Rebirth
by MoonfireSpam23
Summary: Shrewpaw was never happy living in StarClan's territory; after he and Swiftpaw found a way to live again, they became excited all too soon. Little did they know that their rebirth could cause the destruction of all of the clans.
1. Awakening

Shrewpaw felt like he was underwater. Gentle blue light surrounded his small body on all sides; it stretched on and on like the trees in the forest before the destruction. Even though he knew he was dead, his mind felt at peace. He almost felt like floating forever.

The former ThunderClan apprentice shut his eyes, trying to feel sad or upset about what he was leaving behind. No more hunting, no more training, no more Squirrelpaw… His last bit of rational thought then faded, and the now dead apprentice released his final tie to the world of the living.

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"Dear Shrewpaw, it is time for you to wake up."

Shrewpaw moaned in protest. His mind was racing like a startled squirrel in a futile attempt to keep the apprentice from remembering the trauma of dying. But that only lasted a few moments, and Shrewpaw quickly found himself jumping up in shock.

"There was a Twoleg, and-" He was shaking with fear.

"Relax, young one. Everything is all right now. You are safe with StarClan." The tortoiseshell she-cat who spoke before ran her tail across Shrewpaw's back. "I am Spottedleaf. I was ThunderClan's medicine cat when your father was still an apprentice." Shrewpaw was about to speak again, but she cut him off. "No, you mustn't speak. I was sent to take you to StarClan's camp. Come with me."

While Shrewpaw trailed behind the dead medicine cat, he took the time to survey his surroundings. He had woken up near a small pool of crystal colored water. The area was dark; it was shadowed by thick trees on all sides. A sandy path stretched out in front of the dead ThunderClan cats, which was also covered.

They emerged from the darkness, and padded into a swampy woodland. Shrewpaw heard the distant croaking of frogs, shuddering at the memory of ShadowClan eating the animals. _Then again, _he thought, _they _do _have webbed paws._ Shrewpaw was relieved when they stepped out of the swamp and onto a moor. The strong scent of rabbit normally would've made him hungry, especially while ThunderClan was starving. That wasn't the case here, though. Why eat when you can't starve?

"StarClan territory is laid out so every cat can hunt to suit their talents while they were still alive," explained Spottedleaf. "The hunting grounds are in a circle around the StarClan camp. Obviously we just came from ShadowClan territory. That's where the Meeting Pool is at."

"Meeting Pool?" Shrewpaw echoed.

"That's where newly dead cats are awakened by a StarClan cat and are taken to the camp." Spottedleaf dipped her head to a small WindClan cat who was carrying a rabbit. Shrewpaw couldn't explain it, but somehow he knew the cat was Gorsepaw. Perhaps that was part of being dead. You know every cat and how they were killed.

"That doesn't make sense." They then entered RiverClan territory. There was a fallen tree that lead to a forest covered island surrounded by water. Spottedleaf went around the fishing cats and led the newcomer to ThunderClan's woods. "I was taken to that blue place by Hollykit and Larchkit. Where did they go?"

"Your sisters and brothers could not follow you to the Severing Waters. That is a place where recently deceased cats go and cut their last shred of life that remains in the living world. Since Hollykit and Larchkit are already gone, they went back to the camp while I went to wake you up."

Shrewpaw remained silent, trying to absorb all he had been told. He leaped over fallen trees and dodged around bushes while running behind Spottedleaf. He knew now that he could run forever in this new place. The thoughts of what he could now do excited him, but he couldn't help but wish that he was still alive and was training with Thornclaw or talking to Squirrelpaw.

"Why is Redtail hunting? We don't need to eat, right? It's not like we can die again." Shrewpaw saw the small red tom pounce on a squirrel then carry his prey across a nearby fallen tree.

Spottedleaf didn't answer right away. She led Shrewpaw over to the tree that Redtail walked across, but stopped before crossing. "Each time a clan cat kills a piece of prey, its soul comes to StarClan and becomes our prey. I guess you could call it our linking prey. By eating what was once in the clan's territory, we keep our ties with the living world. That's how StarClan can receive prophecies. We dream at night about what is to come, then drink out of the Sending Pool in RiverClan's territory and give signs to the living world."

Shrewpaw frowned. "So our prey lives to help cats? Sounds like a bad life."

"Not necessarily," replied Spottedleaf. "When we eat the prey, its soul gets sent back to the living world and it gets reborn. Call it their circle of life." She started crossing the bridge without waiting for Shrewpaw to follow.

"Circle of life… I've heard of that before. Didn't Simbastar of LionClan drive out the evil Scarclaw?"

Spottedleaf laughed. "Something like that." She paused, letting Shrewpaw catch up to her. "Here we are. Shrewpaw, welcome to StarClan's camp!"

**I hope that wasn't too much to absorb. If you're confused, tell me in a review, and I'll try to explain it in a PM.**


	2. StarClan's Camp

If it wasn't for the fact that Shrewpaw knew he was dead, the apprentice would've sworn that he was in a normal clan camp. After pushing his way through the trees surrounding him, Shrewpaw spotted a group of clan leaders sitting on top of a large bolder far to the north. It was tipped to the side; another huge one was next to it, creating a den of sorts.

"That's the leaders' den, I'm assuming," Shrewpaw mewed to Spottedleaf.

"Yes, she replied. The pair headed further into the camp. There was a small group of warriors in the grassy center of the circular camp, some sharing tongues while others boasted of old war wounds. "The warriors' den is here," Spottedleaf continued, pointing with her tail to two trees next to them. Shrewpaw was confused at first until he padded through a bush and into the warriors' den. They slept under the shade of trees. So many thick branches were up above that fallen leaves were caught on them.

Warriors were everywhere! The combined scent of all four clans startled Shrewpaw, so he backed out and regrouped with Spottedleaf.

"So many cats!" Shrewpaw exclaimed. Spottedleaf smiled.

"Yes, I was surprised at my arrival too. Now follow and I'll take you to the nursery."

The nursery was close to the warrior's den, which was just to the left of the fern tunnel. It was just behind a holly bush, and the nursery itself was bordered by stones that StarClan had put there to keep kits from escaping. Vines stretched all over it, supported by low branches on trees and the rocks.

"There are some she-cats who loved taking care of kits so much that they decide to be a queen in StarClan rather than a warrior." Spottedleaf meowed to Shrewpaw.

_Imagine being a kit forever… _Shrewpaw still wasn't happy having died an apprentice, but he felt more lucky than Hollykit and Larchkit. He then turned and stopped at a tunnel next to the nursery.

"Inside here is the medicine den." Spottedleaf stated. Shrewpaw attempted to look inside, but it was too dark to see anything. He could hear the faint raspy voice of Yellowfang, who was telling the story of how she met Firestar.

"…and he fed me! Just like that! I tell you, that Firestar is an odd one."

Spottedleaf purred in amusement. She then flicked her tail for Shrewpaw to follow her. He walked around to the far left side of the camp, where the group of elders could be seen from the entrance. They were sitting under the shade of a fallen tree, which was supported by the tree next to it. Behind the plants were two more trees supported by the front two trees. Shrewpaw couldn't help but wonder if they just happened to fall like that.

"The Twolegs have claimed yet another young one, eh?" A gray RiverClan elder laid near the entrance of the den.

"Hello," greeted Shrewpaw. _There is one good thing about this. I don't have to take care of the elders anymore! _He then realized that Spottedleaf had moved on. Saying a quick good-bye to the elders, Shrewpaw raced over to the leaders' den.

"You've seen this already," Spottedleaf stated, "so I'll take you to meet the apprentices."

_So we can talk about how unfair dying as an apprentice was._

The apprentices' den was located just past a sandy path that was to the left of the leaders' den. The path ended at a large dip in the ground. Some apprentices were in the hole while others sat around it. There weren't nearly as many apprentices as there was elders and warriors, but there was still a lot.

"I'll see you later," Spottedleaf mewed.

"Thanks for your help."

"I was happy to help." The tortoiseshell then turned and raced away.

Shrewpaw felt awkward standing in front of all of the StarClan cats. After seeing a newcomer, all eyes were on him. Hot with embarrassment, Shrewpaw curled up under a tree and shut his eyes. He then remembered that he didn't need sleep anymore, and he wondered if it was ever night in StarClan.

Shrewpaw glanced up to the sky. Instead of seeing a bright sun and deep blue sky, he saw a swirling purple sky with no sun. _How is this place so well lit then?_

"It surprised me too when I first came here. You get used to it."

Shrewpaw sat up, seeing an apprentice with ThunderClan scent on him standing in front of him. Shrewpaw knew it was Swiftpaw. He used his new found power and saw a tentative kit becoming Longtail's apprentice, then saw a new scene at Snakerocks with a dog pack. This cat was Swiftpaw, who died at the same time Brightheart got injured.

"How? Everything is so different here!" Shrewpaw hung his head. "I miss training with Thornclaw, sleeping next to my denmates, Squirrelpaw…"

Swiftpaw sat next to him. "I understand what you mean. When I died, I should've been made a warrior. But Bluestar never appointed me a name, so I died an apprentice."

A sudden yowl sounded from the main camp. All of the apprentices started to head towards the sound, so Shrewpaw followed behind them. When they reached the camp, all of StarClan was seated in anticipation.

One leader from each clan stood on the large boulders on the leaders' den. This time it was Sunstar of ThunderClan, Raggedstar of ShadowClan, Crookedstar of RiverClan, and Gorsestar of WindClan.

"Cats of StarClan," Sunstar howled, "it is now dawn in the living world. As is our tradition, it is time to eat and go to the Dreaming Lake."

"Dreaming Lake?" Shrewpaw whispered to Swiftpaw.

"It's the lake that separates RiverClan and ShadowClan's hunting grounds. That's where StarClan looks into the future and sees any important things that the clans should be told. If we see anything, then a clan leader or medicine cat will go to the Sending Pool and send a prophecy to a medicine cat."

Shrewpaw nodded and the pair crossed the camp over to the prey pile. Shrewpaw selected a rabbit while Swiftpaw picked up a vole. They sat in front of the path that lead to the apprentice's den. Shrewpaw sank his teeth into the prey and quickly devoured it. It was missing something that it had in the world of the living, but was still good.

A while later, all of StarClan had finished their meal. The former leaders led the clan to the Dreaming Lake. Deputies, whom Shrewpaw learned shared the warriors' den, followed behind them. Elders came forward with warriors behind them, then queens, kits, and apprentices were at the back.

Shrewpaw marched through RiverClan's hunting grounds in silence. He was a little awed at the thought of seeing what only medicine cats and clan leaders could in the living world, but he still wasn't happy in StarClan. Was he destined to never be happy again?!

He didn't think on this anymore, since they had reached the lake. It had an odd sparkle to it like the Moonstone did. Shrewpaw padded to the edge, waiting to see what he was supposed to do. The rest of StarClan took a small drink of the water, so he followed in their example.

_Shrewpaw was asleep in seconds after drinking from the Dreaming Lake. There were many cats surrounding him on all sides. He recognized ThunderClan quickly; joy surged through him._

"_Let's go down, Brambleclaw! This has to be our new home!" It was Squirrelpaw. She was bouncing around her father and clanmate._

_Brambleclaw purred. "We have to wait for Firestar to give the signal."_

_Shrewpaw glanced down. There was a large lake in the center of the territory below. _Where is this place, _he thought._ Squirrelpaw and Brambleclaw returned saying that Midnight told us to move… Is this the new land that the clan cats have to go to?

He then woke up, seeing he Dreaming Lake in front of him once again. StarClan were starting to open there eyes all around him.

Next to him, Swiftpaw was already up. "That was interesting. I guess that's the new land for the clan cats."

"Did we dream the same thing?"

"Yeah. Cats who were in the same clans dream the same."

By this time everyone was up. Windstar let out a loud howl, so the cats started to follow behind her. When they got back to camp, Gorsestar, Crookedstar, Sunstar, and Raggedstar hopped back onto the rock.

"We have seen the future of the clans," called Crookedstar. "We will live through this tragedy! The Twolegs may be able to destroy our homes, but the clan will live on!"

StarClan howled in joy. Even the smallest kit was squealing in excitement.

"Tonight we shall send signs to all four medicine cats to direct the clans to their new home. Yellowfang will go to Runningnose," ordered Raggedstar. Even though she finished her life in ThunderClan, Yellowfang still sent signs to Runningnose, who was her former apprentice.

"I will speak to Barkface," Windstar meowed.

"Spottedleaf will talk to Cinderpelt," stated Sunstar.

"Mudfur will speak with me," Crookedstar decided.

The meeting was over. The clan started to break up, some talking to other cats while most retreated to their dens.

"What now," Shrewpaw asked Swiftpaw.

"Whatever you want to do. Hunt, rest, explore…"

"What are you going to do?"

Swiftpaw thought for a second. "I have no clue. Probably hunt. Things are pretty boring around here…"

"I'll go with you then." With that, Shrewpaw stepped out of his new home and entered into the wild.


	3. A Chance at Life

"_No! It's too soon…"_

"_We're sorry, Cinderpelt. There's nothing that can be done."_

Shrewpaw hissed in frustration. How could StarClan do this?! Cinderpelt was still so young and had so much to do before her life was to end. How can StarClan call themselves good if they weren't going to tell her how to avoid her death?

The angered tom dashed through ThunderClan's hunting grounds. He didn't know where he was going or why. All he knew was that he wanted to get away from the camp.

It had been many moons since he joined StarClan, yet he still didn't feel like he belonged there. Only Swiftpaw had spoken to him since he died. Spottedleaf hadn't even acknowledged his presence after showing him around.

Shrewpaw was so consumed by his thoughts that he didn't realize his paws led him to the Meeting Pool. It was the same as when he first arrived- shadowed path and pool sparkling like the lake in the clans' new territory. He started toward it, only to get flung against a tree by an unknown force. By the scent, he could tell that it was Swiftpaw. The former ThunderClan apprentice whipped his tail against Shrewpaw's mouth.

"Climb up a tree and stay quiet," the tom hissed; Shrewpaw did as he was told.

"What's going on," Shrewpaw mewed. He received no answer from Swiftpaw, who was staring down at the ground below. Shrewpaw followed his friend's gaze.

Yellowfang, Spottedleaf, and Bluestar were sitting in front of the Meeting Pool. All three she-cats looked nervous; Yellowfang kept glancing behind her at the entrance to the pool.

"Are you sure we should be doing this without the permission of StarClan," fretted Bluestar. Her blue/gray tail was rushing from side to side faster than a startled rabbit.

Yellowfang sighed. "In case you've forgotten, Bluestar, we _are _StarClan. A part of it, anyway. Can't we make our own decisions?"

"This decision affects everyone! It should be discussed with the others!" Bluestar stood and faced Yellowfang.

"Would you rather let another innocent cat join our ranks?!"

That seemed to get Bluestar. She looked over to Spottedleaf. "How much longer?"

"Sorreltail is starting to give birth," the former medicine cat reported. She was gazing into the pool and seemed to be looking at something no other cat could see. "The badger is invading the nursery…"

"_Go now, Spottedleaf!" _Yellowfang sounded desperate.

In one swift movement, Spottedleaf leaped into the pool. Yellowfang gently grabbed her tortoiseshell tail in her mouth; it was the only piece of Spottedleaf that was still out of the pool.

Shrewpaw leaned over to Swiftpaw, who was seated on a thick branch attached to the tree next to Shrewpaw. "What is Spottedleaf doing?"

Swiftpaw frowned. "I don't know."

Shrewpaw's attention returned to the pool. Yellowfang was pulling back with all of her strength. Spottedleaf returned to them with a gray she-cat in her jaws. It was Cinderpelt. She was covered with wounds that weren't healed yet didn't bleed.

"She still holds a small tie to the world," Yellowfang meowed, "and Sorreltail has just given birth. We must send Cinderpelt back. She still has life left to live out before joining us here."

Bluestar still looked hesitant, but she didn't speak again as Spottedleaf lapped at the water. The appearance of the pool suddenly changed. Shrewpaw could see Leafpool crying over the dead form of her mentor. She was encouraging Sorreltail while the she-cat continued giving birth.

Spottedleaf was still holding the limp form of Cinderpelt in her mouth. When the next kit came into the world, Spottedleaf dropped the cat from her jaws into the pool. Cinderpelt sank like a stone and was out of sight.

What happened next excited Shrewpaw. After Cinderpelt disappeared from sight, a last kit came out of Sorreltail. It was a she-cat with gray fur.

_It looks just like Cinderpelt! Maybe there is a way I can live again and finish my life…_

The three she-cats turned and raced away, still nervous about being seen. When he was certain no one else was coming, Shrewpaw jumped down with Swiftpaw following behind him.

"This is my chance! Swiftpaw, there is a way we can finish our lives!"

Swiftpaw shook his head. "In case you didn't notice, they had to pull Cinderpelt out when she still had a tie to the world. We're fully dead."

Shrewpaw wasn't about to give up so easily. He had to believe there was a chance or he'd go crazy staying in StarClan. "Well… How do you meet a cat at the Meeting Pool?"

"They get washed up here. Why?"

"What happens if you jump it?" He sniffed the edge of the pool in curiosity.

"W-what? Shrewpaw, are you crazy? You could get-"

"Killed?" Shrewpaw snorted. "Been there, done that. I'm pretty sure it can't happen again."

Swiftpaw sat and curled his tail around his paws. "It won't work anyway. I bet you'll end up here again."

"What if it _does _work, though? Now come on, Scaredeypaws!" Shrewpaw thought back to when the three she-cats were there. _They managed to get the scene at the pool to be where they wanted it… _Shrewpaw pictured the new clans' territory in his head, from the biggest oak to the smallest mouse on the forest floor. He bent down and lapped up a bit of the water, shivering as it trickled down his throat.

The Meeting Pool then changed. What was once sparkling water became the forest.

"I-It's working!" Shrewpaw tossed his head back, victorious. "Come on, Swiftpaw! Come with me!"

"I didn't even think we'd get this far," murmured Swiftpaw. "Fine. But if something goes wrong, don't blame me!"

Shrewpaw snorted. "What's the worse that could happen?" He shut his eyes, tensed his muscles, then jumped into the pool with Swiftpaw next to him.

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In the darkest part of the Forest of No Stars, Tigerstar was plotting. This wasn't a new thing for him, after all, he was _always _thinking of a way to kill Firestar.

StarClan thought they could act and not be seen. Oh, were they wrong. With the actions of three foolish former ThunderClan cats, Tigerstar now knew how to work out his ultimate plan. He would get to the Meeting Pool and, upon arrival, would be reborn like Cinderpelt. Once that happened, he would be free to live once again.

_I messed up the first time. Trust is for fools, and I was stupid enough to trust Scourge. But all great plans must have trial and error. That's all my first life was- a test run._

Tigerstar turned his attention to the forest below. Information was key, and he was going to have all of it. He focused on ShadowClan. His daughter Tawnypelt was lying in the nursery, three kits next to her.

_Tigerkit. _A plan was beginning to form into Tigerstar's head. He entered into the dream of the young kit, who was chasing a butterfly. Tigerkit jumped onto it. Satisfaction spread through him; he pawed at it

"Come here, little kit," Tigerstar called. The kit looked up and allowed the butterfly to go free.

"Who are you," asked Tigerkit.

Tigerstar ignored the question. "I saw something amazing outside of camp. Why don't you wake up and meet me out of ShadowClan's camp? It'll be an adventure!" _I hate kits so much, and faking this is killing me!_

"Wow! I'll be right there!" The dream faded, and Tigerstar moved out of the camp. His form would look odd to the kit; it would look clouded like it did to Lionpaw.

Tigerkit then slipped out of the camp.

"I'm here, young Tigerkit. Follow me." Tigerstar never allowed the kit to get close enough to notice his odd form. He led the kit through ShadowClan's camp and over to a tunnel. Slipping into the darkness, he paused to let the kit get close enough to follow by scent.

Tigerstar could detect the fox by scent. He dashed far ahead, ignoring the panicked cries of the kit. The nursing fox lifted its head and bolted towards the entrance.

Tigerstar then returned to the Forest of No Stars. Hawkfrost was waiting for him; he lifted his head when his father returned.

"What are you doing?" Hawkfrost asked.

"Come with me," ordered Tigerstar. He charged through the forest, explaining his plan to his son. "And Flamekit followed behind his brother, the fool," he continued. "So we can finally have revenge on that stupid kittypet clan."

Hawkfrost frowned. "If we manage to take their bodies once the kits die, won't their injuries kill us again?"

"No. They will be healed enough to let us live."

They finally reached the edge of the Forest of No Stars. Tigerstar could see the Meeting Pool from where he stood on a hilltop.

"We can't get into StarClan," Hawkfrost pointed out.

"I know that!" Tigerstar turned and hissed at his son. "We don't need to go to StarClan. Where do you think cats who don't go to StarClan get here from? We don't need StarClan's Meeting Pool. There's one here." He led his son down the hill. They were at the edge of their territory. Tigerstar followed it for a while, then reached their Meeting Pool. It was an opposite of StarClan's. It was a dull gray rather than sparkling.

"I don't remember this," Hawkfrost murmured.

"You had other distractions at the moment," Tigerstar pointed out. He lapped at the water; its image turned to the two kits. Both were killed by a bite to the neck.

"Come, Hawkfrost," Tigerstar mewed. "Our future awaits!"

**This is going to be set after Outcast. I know I mentioned Cinderpelt's death and that was during the New Prophecy, but let's just say it took Shrewpaw and Swiftpaw a long time to get out of the Severing Waters (which will happen during the next chapter).**

**School starts back Monday, meaning slower chapters. I'll try to get at least one more up before then.**

**One last thing… Can someone give me a description of Flamekit? I'd appreciate it. :D**


	4. Darkness in Light and Light in Darkness

Shrewpaw wasn't one for nostalgia, but returning to the Severing Waters and feeling the calm water press against his fur sent a happy jolt down his spine and joy through his body. Unlike his last time in the Severing Waters, Shrewpaw realized that he was conscious of his surroundings rather than just floating along.

Swiftpaw was no where to be seen in the almost black abyss. Shrewpaw opened his mouth to call out to his friend, but water flooded into his mouth like the river in the clans' old territory.

_I wish I had planned for when we got this far, _Shrewpaw hissed to himself with regret. _Am I just going to float along forever?_

Too absorbed to watch himself fall, Shrewpaw didn't notice that he had slipped out of the Severing Waters. He fell with a loud bang onto a dark floor like a bird hit by a shiny silver Twoleg thing. The tom looked around, expecting to see the huge forest trees and once again feel the soft grass underneath his paws.

What he got made him wish he had stayed in StarClan.

Instead of the light sky above him, the dark blue 'water' was still above him; it was too far up, so he couldn't reach it any more. Shrewpaw looked around for Swiftpaw or any cats at all. He could only see darkness for what seemed to stretch on forever. He squinted and turned his gaze down. There was the faint outline of hard floor beneath him. Shrewpaw started to follow it. He didn't know how long or far he had gone; he padded on hoping to see something other than darkness.

A long while later, the path emptied onto a large dark green circle. A nearly blinding white she-cat stood in the center, facing away from him. Her eyes were locked with a boulder in front of her.

"E-excuse me…" Shrewpaw called out to her and leapt onto the platform. "Where am I? How do I get out of here?"

She didn't respond. The she-cat didn't even move a whisker length. Shrewpaw charged up to her and tapped her shoulder with his tail.

"Hello?"

She still didn't react. Turning his gaze to the boulder that was clearly more interesting than he was, Shrewpaw blinked in shock. The stone was covered with dents and seemed to be moments from breaking apart. In the center of it he could see all of the cats in the forest at the Gathering.

_Is this like the Moonpool or Moonstone, _Shrewpaw wondered. _Or maybe it's like the Dreaming Lake and this she-cat can see the future!_

"Moonstone. Moonpool. Dreaming Lake. Many names for what is the same." The she-cat finally opened her shining blue eyes.

Shrewpaw shuddered, not just because she read his mind. Her eyes didn't look real. "Who are you?"

She stood and began pacing around the circular space. "I am whatever you need me to be. To some I am of StarClan, and I send signs to the clans of what not even StarClan can see."

"Then you aren't of StarClan? You just… pretend to be in it?" This she-cat was starting to annoy Shrewpaw. Why couldn't she just tell him her name, then tell him how to return to the living world?

"I am not of StarClan. I am not of the Tribe of Endless Hunting… Before you ask, I am not of the Forest of No Stars either." She stopped and gave Shrewpaw a fixed stare. "I am the tie between the land of the dead and world of the living. Did you think you were the only dead cat to with for life? Many have come before you to this place, and I am the one who sends them back to their ancestors. In your case, StarClan."

Shrewpaw ignored her statement. There was _no way _he was going back. "You never answered my question. What is your name? I won't call you Tie while I stay here… Though I don't plan on staying long." Shrewpaw looked away from her creepy eyes. _That light!_

"Call me whatever pleases you," she stated.

"Fine, then. How about…" He frowned. Naming cats wasn't one of his strong suits, and this she-cat wasn't exactly normal.

He thought of the barn cats. Their names were different. They were like the clan names, but cut in half. _I've got it._ "Light."

Light rolled her eyes. "Whatever catches your prey. Now on to business. Why are you here?"

Shrewpaw snorted. "You have to _ask? _StarClan is so unfair. They kill young cats like Cinderpelt without-"

She stopped pacing and interrupted him. "Those ThunderClan cats that sent her back are so foolish! All they did was plant bad ideas into many!"

"You mean you couldn't stop them?"

"They used a method that I couldn't stop," explained Light, "since Cinderpelt didn't go though the Severing Waters. She went into a different place. You see, young Shrewpaw, Sorreltail's last kit was changed to Cinderpelt by Bluestar, Yellowfang, and Spottedleaf."

_I wish I could've gone with her._

"I think not!" She growled. "I was fixing to punish StarClan when you showed up. We shall kill two birds with one blow. Come with me."

"Never." Shrewpaw ignored the fact that Light held the power to punish StarClan. He had made up his mind long ago that he was never going back to StarClan's camp. This she-cat was _not _going to stand in his way!

Light sighed. "Don't be a fool, Shrewpaw. Even if you did live again, your body might not manage it."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean," she hissed, "that there's a chance you could just die again. Your body could have not healed the wound that killed you. It's the same for when leaders lose lives. Remember Tigerstar? StarClan couldn't heal his injury."

He took a moment to take in her words. Dying again… That wasn't on the top of Shrewpaw's list of desires. He unsheathed his claws and measured Light up for the best place to strike. "I'll take my chances, Light. Out of my way!"

She padded towards him, unimpressed. "On the slim chance you would take me down, what would you do?" Shrewpaw nodded to the boulder; Light shook her head. "Such a foolish tom."

Shrewpaw never even saw her move. One second he had his claw raised and was fixing to rake his claws down Light's obnoxious muzzle, the next he was flung across the clearing and was lying on his back. He was glad for once to be dead. It wasn't possible to bleed.

Light was next to him. "You see? There is no going back. Now get up. I'll escort you back to StarClan."

"I told you. I'm not going back."

"Neither am I!"

Out of the corner of his eye, Shrewpaw spotted Swiftpaw. He was eying Light with the same hatred Shrewpaw felt.

"Young Swiftpaw," mewed Light. "Killed by his own stupidity and desire to show off." She turned to his and slowly padded up to the stairs while she spoke. "Have you come to drag Shrewpaw down with you like you did to Brightheart?"

"I think I'll rename you," hissed Shrewpaw. He pushed himself to his paws. "Which one to you like better- Dark or Annoyingfur?"

Light didn't get a chance to reply. The boulder began flashing a light rivaling the shine of her eyes. She charged over to it, lashing her tail and muttering under her breath.

"Bad. Very, very bad. Those poor- Oh…" She shook her head before turning back to the apprentices. "It seems that I get to grant your wish. It is your fault, after all." Light raced back to them. "Tigerstar and Hawkfrost are alive."

"_What?!" _Shrewpaw and Swiftpaw gasped in unison.

"They killed two of Tawnypelt's kits, Tigerkit and Flamekit. Tigerstar took Tigerkit's body and Hawkfrost took Flamekit's. They didn't pass through here …"

Swiftpaw snorted. "That's out fault why exactly?"

Light's eyes darkened, to the surprise of Shrewpaw who was convinced that was impossible. "They hid in the shadows of this place and slipped past me while I was busy arguing with you and your selfish desires! Now the whole forest is in danger, and it's all your fault! Why couldn't you just be content with StarClan?!"

_I think she just wants to have someone to blame,_ Shrewpaw thought. _And I don't care that you can hear this, Light._

She bent down and licked Shrewpaw and Swiftpaw between the ears. The dark began to blur; nausea rose through Shrewpaw's belly.

He heard Light speak again. "Your bodies may or may not let you live. I'm going to gamble anyway. We don't have time to wait for another kit birth. There's no telling what Tigerstar and Hawkfrost are going to do. You can't just kill them… Everyone will think you're crazy. Wait until the best moment. Good luck, foolish apprentices."

Shrewpaw was going to reply, but the world around him faded and he was falling once again.

**Before you ask, the phrase "whatever catches your prey" is the Warrior's version of the phrase "whatever floats your boat".**

**I know Shrewpaw's a bit… Not Shrewpaw. But think about what he's been though and who he's been hanging out with. You'd be the same way. **

**Either way, I kind of like the new Shrewpaw.**

**To anonymous reviewer ****DRAMAMAMA: They will… just not in the way you're expecting.**

**Chapter poll question: What do you think of Light?**


	5. Life is Beautiful

**I'm updating from AOL dial-up connection (yeah, it still exists). Appreciate this chapter!**

When Shrewpaw was still alive in the old forest, he was the first apprentice up every morning. He was the type of cat who loved to wake up early, watch the elders and senior warriors creep out of their dens like old foxes, and start his day when the sun had barely risen.

Ever since he had joined StarClan, however, Shrewpaw had grown lazy. Swiftpaw had greatly affected his personality; his hatred of StarClan had made him lie around in the apprentices' hollow and do nothing.

"Hey lazy furball! Get up!" The brown apprentice felt a paw tap at his shoulder the same way a woodpecker hit a tree.

"_Uhh… _I d'wanna get up, Thornclaw. A few more moments…" The brown tom rolled over to his other side and attempted to go back to a peaceful slumber.

"Shrewpaw! I don't care if you were dreaming about you and Squirrelflight having-"

Shrewpaw suddenly leapt up. In one quick spin, his tail flew over Swiftpaw's mouth. "Hey! This fanfic is rated K+!"

Swiftpaw rolled his eyes. "Whatever. You're up, so take a good look around."

The day was bright, as any day was in StarClan. Or, as Shrewpaw and Swiftpaw chose to call it, DayClan. Nighttime didn't exist in StarClan's territory. Why would it? It's not like the cats needed sleep anyway.

Shrewpaw didn't recognize the territory surrounding them. It was all trees, trees, and more trees. A bush or two attempted to deft the tree conformity, and every now and then a flower would join them. It was like the kittypet and tribe cat outsiders in ThunderClan… Except they were starting to win.

Shrewpaw tried to tilt his head to the side in confusion. Something was odd. His neck flung to the side; a wave of pain crashed into him like the water in the sun-drown place.

"_Oww!" _The tom winced; his eyes scrunched shut.

Swiftpaw was by his side in an instant. "It's just like I thought."

"What… d'ya… mean?" He spoke through the stings of misery in his neck. Swiftpaw turned to the side in reply. Shrewpaw nearly chocked at the sight of his friend.

Swiftpaw's pelt was covered in scars of different shapes and sizes. The largest of them was on his neck, but the numbers on his pelt defidently had to hurt.

_Scars don't show in StarCla- Wait… We went to the Severing Waters, saw Light, and-_

"We… We're alive! Swiftpaw, we're alive!" Shrewpaw felt like leaping into the air like a young kit who was allowed to go on a hunting patrol. He wanted to run up to the nearest stranger and scream his joys into the air.

Swiftpaw wasn't nearly as enthusiastic. "Yeah. Great."

"What's eating you? Uh, sorry… Bad question." Shrewpaw looked away; his ears flattened against his head.

"You're fine." He waved his tail dismissively before answering the question. "It's just… Think about it, Shrewpaw. First of all, we're here because that fox-dung eating Light allowed us to be. Once we stop Tigerstar and Hawkfrost, how do you know she won't take it away from us? So sure, we can just refuse to stop them, thereby letting all of the clans be destroyed and get taken over by those nut jobs.

"Secondly, every cat we knew and loved won't have forgotten about us. Yeah, we won't be their every thought, but they'll prolly think about us on the occasion.

"I can see it now. We'll waltz into ThunderClan's camp, and they'll remember us by scent. Then they'll see my scars and you're freakish neck. What'll we tell them? Huh?

"Another thing-"

Shrewpaw threw his tail on top of Swiftpaw's mouth. "Stop! Just… stop." They stood there in silence for a few moments. Birds sang out like a symphony from the tree tops; leaf-fall winds roared around them and ruffled their fur.

"Look at the bright side, Swiftpaw," Shrewpaw finally mewed. "We're _alive. _No matter what happens, our greatest wish was granted. We can finally learn to enjoy it while it lasts."

Swiftpaw shrugged. "Or hate every moment. Brightheart won't have forgotten, Shrewpaw… She'll know it's me."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

There was no hope left for Light. The shining white she-cat was now officially homeless. She started down at the remains of her Seeing Boulder with a heavy sigh of regret.

Why did she have to pity Shrewpaw? He was no different than the thousands of other apprentices who attempted to defy their fate. What made him and Swiftpaw so special?

Perhaps it was his eyes. Light was personally biased towards her own pair of luminous blue pools (one apprentice actually dared to call her Shiningeyes, which granted him claws to the muzzle), but Shrewpaw's just seemed so…

Light's head hung in defeat. No matter what happened in the past, there was no going back. Her home in the Tie Between the Worlds was gone.

It was all StarClan's fault.

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Tigerstar grinned. He never was a happy-go lucky type of cat, but knowing that his evil plan was working had made him so joyous.

Hawkfrost squirmed next to him. Tigerstar's son couldn't get happy being in Flamekit's body ("He has ginger fur like Firestar," he had grumbled in annoyance), but Tigerstar knew he shared his father's joy.

The two cats and Dawnkit were supposed to be asleep in ShadowClan's nursery. It was incredibly late at night, but once again Tigerstar was plotting.

Dawnkit knew too much. Earlier that day, she had told Hawkfrost and Tigerstar that they were no fun anymore.

"_Something is different about you two," she had meowed sadly. "You play like RiverClan cats!"_

Tigerstar growled at the memory; his good mood was destroyed. How was he supposed to be a good leader if he was expected to play with a stupid kit?!

_Something must be done, _he thought. _Dawnkit must be destroyed before my daughter realizes I'm not Tigerkit._

A thought struck him like lightning. _She's not technically my daughter anymore… More like my trial life daughter._

After that thought, Tawnypelt herself crept back into the nursery. She had gone out to stretch her legs; she left what she thought was sleeping kits in the nursery.

Tigerstar shut his eyes and tried his hardest to appear asleep by breathing slowly. The tortoiseshell she-cat sniffed him curiously, gently licked him between the ears, and settled down next to her kits.

She had been fooled by Tigerstar once again.

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"That's it," Light mewed. "I have to leave this place."

Memories swarmed her mind like bees. How long had she lived in the Tie Between the Worlds? Longer than the clan cats had been around, she knew.

StarClan had ordered her to move, the stupid pieces of fox-dung. They had not the right! She was the tie that held them to their precious clan cats, dang it, yet they cast her out like the plague!

_Light had ventured up to StarClan's hunting grounds. It wasn't safe to go there and leave the Severing Waters unguarded, but what was she supposed to do? Let them go on without punishment? That itself would be a crime._

"_I want to see Bluestar, Yellowfang, and Spottedleaf _now!" _She marched into the camp and howled at the nearest cat- a white tom that smelled faintly of RiverClan._

"_L-Light! Yes, I'll get right on it." He darted away from her; a trail of fear stretched on behind him. When he returned with the she-cats, they seemed to know their crime._

_Yellowfang didn't avoid the topic. "Cinderpelt should not of died," she mewed to the angered she-cat. "It wasn't right!"_

_Light rolled her eyes. "Unfair? Are you so mouse-brained? Soon every cat will want life! Everyone will wish for rebirth! Just look at Swiftpaw, Shrewpaw, Tigerstar, and Hawkfrost! All four toms are alive once again!" Her anger made her voice raise, and even the apprentices had heard her. The cats of StarClan crept out of their dens, terror on their pelts like dried mud._

"_Tigerstar and Hawkfrost? How?"_

"_I knew Swiftpaw and Shrewpaw were trouble! They just couldn't deal with death, could they?"_

_One voice stood out against the rest. "It's Light's fault! She should've stopped them!"_

_That got them going. They all muttered agreement amongst themselves._

"_He's right. It's her job to keep them back, but she didn't! Light's to blame!"_

"_What do we need her for, anyway? Cats can't live again unless they get past her. What's stopping us from destroying her home? Then we can live on without the fear of any more cats like Tigerstar living again!"_

"_I say we destroy the land beneath the Severing Waters! It's not needed anymore!"  
_

"Yeah!"

"They stuck to their promise," Light muttered to herself. "What can I do now? I have no where to go…" She shut her eyes, not expecting to still see the actions of the land below. A scene played out in front of her eyes; a plan formed in her mind.

"I may still have a use yet."

**Sorry about jumping around so much. I actually didn't plan to do that. Then again, I haven't planned this story out at all.**

**There is one good thing about Dad's computer… He has grammar check! Woo hoo!**


	6. Moonfire has Time Issues

**I'm too lazy to make a new one of these for every story, so it's going to be the same for fanfiction and fictionpress. You should recognize at least one character.**

**Swiftpaw and Shrewpaw, for those of you who don't know, are characters from the Warriors series. If you haven't read them, then some of the words might seem strange. The point I'm trying to make will still be obvious, though.**

The brown tom padded angrily through the Twolegplace; each stomp of his paws on the sidewalk sounded like every cat of StarClan had fallen at the same time with a loud thud to the ground below. Ignoring the curious stares of the small Twoleg kits, the apprentice fixed his gaze on one place in particular. He raced on, growing faster with each passing second. His companion struggled to keep up with his furious pace.

"Shrewpaw, settle down!" The tom next to him begged. "It's not that important, is it?"

Shrewpaw glared at his companion. "Are you kidding me, Swiftpaw?! Please say that you are!" When Swiftpaw didn't reply, Shrewpaw gave a furious hiss. "Moonfire _abandoned _us, you mousebrain! She's moved on to bigger and better things! Don't you understand? We…" He paused with a shudder. "We're victims of writer's block!"

Swiftpaw snorted. "_I'm _the mousebrain? Shrewpaw, she's busy! Give her a chance to get her life in order!" He slipped in front and started for the brick home; the terrified brown tom followed his friend as he stepped through the doggie door at the back of the house. Lucky for the former ThunderClan apprentices, the dogs were out with Moonfire's mother.

"Where is she," Shrewpaw wondered aloud.

"You have to ask?" Swiftpaw rolled his eyes. "She's in the basement… duh." He raced through the kitchen of the Twoleg's house, and he nosed the cracked door open. After racing down the stairs, Swiftpaw fixed a shocked glare at the blond Twoleg girl. Unlike what he first imagined, she was by no means busy. The small girl was stuffing her face full of as much unhealthy food she could fit in her mouth; at this moment, it was chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream and Cheez-its. Loud Linkin Park music blasted from the computer's speakers, threatening to deafen the two unfortunate toms.

"Moonfire!" Swiftpaw and Shrewpaw hissed at the teen, who was lying like a lazy bum on the air mattress in front of an insanely old television. The girl jumped at their voices; she bit her lip with worry.

"Oh…" She muttered a few incoherent sentences under her breath and shoved more Cheez-its into her mouth.

"This is not a Twix commercial!" Shrewpaw snarled. "You have some major explaining to do! Get off your stupid Playstation 2 and start typing!"

Moonfire looked away from the two accusing glares. "Eh heh… See, about that… I, uh…. Ya'know…"

Swiftpaw padded up next to her. "No, I don't know. Turn it off, for StarClan's sake!" He looked at the TV. "Haven't you already beaten _Kingdom Hearts?"_

"Yeah," Moonfire said, "but I decided to try it on expert. I tried replaying _Final Fantasy Tactics, Chrono Cross, Tales of the Abyss, _and _Tales of Legendia, _but I couldn't keep myself entertained with them. In the end, I decided to try this." She killed one more Heartless, then turned her eyes to the two toms who hadn't replied. They had both fallen asleep. Swiftpaw was on the dog bed, and Shrewpaw snored from the Gators beanbag.

"Uh, guys?" Moonfire frowned. _"Guys!"_

The two toms shot up in unison.

"Why do you have to be so loud?" Swiftpaw complained.

Shrewpaw jumped to his feet like a deer who heard a gun. "Yes, Squirrelflight, I love you!"

"What?"

"I am _so _saving that for future dialogue." Moonfire cackled.

"What future dialogue?! If you don't update any of your stories, then there is no dialogue! Get off your lazy dead butt and _type!" _Swiftpaw scraped his claws against the hard gray floor. "Heck, it doesn't even have to be _Rebirth. _I just want you back to writing."

"I've been busy," the lazy authoress began. She was cut off by Shrewpaw.

"No excuses! You're about to be mobbed, Moonfire. Not just by your fans! Cloudtail is gathering ThunderClan as we speak from _Starless Clan. _The poor atheist never did get to be clan leader. Your fans never did learn how that worked… Anyway, Bluepaw is coming as well. She wants her story told…" Shrewpaw shuddered, nodding at his companion to continue.

"Fictionpress is angry, too. Tawny is picking your front door lock as we speak, Adeline is writing a speech to encourage the troops outside, and I don't think you want Jesabell down here…"

Moonfire sighed and flipped the switch on her Playstation. "All right, all right already! Sheesh! I'll type your stupid chapter!"

The two toms let out a loud howl of victory, only stopping at the look on the author's face.

"It's just not how you expect it's going to turn out…"

"What do you mean?" Shrewpaw tilted his head to the side, watching as the girl's hands flew across the black keyboard. The words on the Word Processor document read: _The brown tom padded angrily through the Twolegplace; each stomp of his paws on the sidewalk sounded like every cat of StarClan had fallen at the same time with a loud thud to the ground below…_

**Yeah, guys, I'm really sorry I haven't been able to update as much as I'd like to. School has sucked really bad, and I've been incredibly busy other than that. I'll be back ASAP. Moonkin's honor!**

**-a hopeful Moonfire**

**PS: What did you all think of this thing (other than those of you who don't know who Swiftpaw and Shrewpaw are)? I enjoyed writing it.**


	7. Foreshadowing and ThunderClan

"Remember, Shrewpaw. When we get to the ThunderClan camp, act like a clueless mousebrain."

Shrewpaw rolled his eyes. "Relax. It'll be fine." He knew that was a lie. Both toms had spent the entire morning filled with anxiety. How would they deceive their old clanmates? It wasn't just that they looked like Shrewpaw and Swiftpaw; they had scars in the places that had caused their deaths.

The two finally reached the new WindClan territory, hesitantly taking the first pawstep. If a patrol caught them, then they would defidently chase them in the opposite direction of the ThunderClan camp.

Shrewpaw hardly dared to breathe as they inched closer and closer to the shimmering lake. The sun, at its full height in the sky, beat down on his brown fur, draining his strength. When at last they were at the lake, they headed for ThunderClan. Shrewpaw glanced around, but couldn't see cats in any direction. He started to feel nervous.

"Things are going too well," observed Swiftpaw. "I have the luck of a dead mouse. If we don't get seen now, then clearly something even worse will happen later."

"What are you saying? Do you _want _to get caught?" They were finally close to the ThunderClan border. The lush trees and other plants seemed so inviting. Shrewpaw wanted to go faster, but the noise might attract an unseen patrol.

Swiftpaw snorted. "It'd make me feel better. Then I would know that nothing could possibly get worse."

"I think dying is the worst your life could get," his brown furred companion pointed out, his response met with a shrug.

The pair finally made it away from WindClan and into the trees; Shrewpaw wanted to scream his relief to the sky and thank StarClan, but what had StarClan ever done for him? Nothing good, he knew, but at least they hadn't sent him on a quest to once again kill Tigerstar and Hawkfrost like Light had. Light…

"Hey, Swiftpaw, do you think Light told StarClan about us?" He trailed behind the pale tom that was following a recent border marking by a ThunderClan patrol.

"I doubt it," Longtail's former apprentice muttered, his attention on a bush with a very fresh scent on it. "Wouldn't that make her look bad?"

He had a point, but something inside of Shrewpaw knew that there was trouble in StarClan. It badgered him like a small thorn trapped underneath his flesh- painful and impossible to ignore. He pawed at the ground, glancing to and fro.

Swiftpaw detected his anxiety. "You okay?" He left the bush and stared at his friend.

"Something's not right…"

"What are you talking about?"

"In StarClan," he tried to explain.

"You felt it too?" Swiftpaw looked away. "It'd help if we could talk to a medicine cat, but what good would that do? 'Hey Leafpool, can you help us with this problem? We were dead, then we came back to life, and now we have this odd feeling about something unexplainable.' That'd go over well, let me tell you…"

"There's nothing we can do about it, I guess," agreed Shrewpaw. "The sooner we reach ThunderClan, the better."

They padded away from the bush at the edge of the lake; Swiftpaw still led the way along the scent trail. Shrewpaw wondered how they were going to go about rejoining ThunderClan. Firestar had a reputation for taking in cats of all kinds, warrior blood or not, so that wouldn't be a problem. The debate that was going on in Shrewpaw's mind was about the talk that would get them there. Obviously the truth was out of the question. Maybe Swiftpaw had an idea…

"How are we going to join ThunderClan?"

Swiftpaw glanced back for a quick heartbeat. "I was hoping you had that worked out."

"Um…" They stopped and hid underneath a holly bush; the scent would mask them, so a passing cat wouldn't scent the intruders. "What if we acted like rogues? You can be Swift, and I'll be Shrew. That way Firestar won't change out names."

Swiftpaw nodded. "Yeah, I'm not fond of getting a name change. Especially with how his warrior names have been going recently. Berrynose…" He shuddered. "Anyway, what sap story do you have in mind?"

"Our mother and father died, and they told us stories about the clans?"

"Works for me. Let's go."

They exited the cover of the bush, and within moments the new camp was in sight. Shrewpaw could smell the overwhelming scent of ThunderClan cats. Compared to the clan when he was alive before, this was different. It smelled off; the smell was tainted, almost. _Could it be because of the foreign cats Firestar has been accepting into the clan? _A different thought entered his mind. _Are we still technically ThunderClan cats? Well, former ThunderClan, I guess…_

"We don't have all day," Swiftpaw hissed. "Come on." They bounded to the camp entrance; both pairs of ears went back with the awkwardness of the situation. Cats, formerly sharing tongues, eating, or escaping the greenleaf heat, instantly stopped what they were doing to turn and stare at the intruders. Shrewpaw had never felt so out of place in the place where he knew he belonged.

"Let's just go see Firestar," Swiftpaw whispered as silently as he could. They headed for the leader's den, knowing the way since they had seen the camp from StarClan. Of course they couldn't get that far.

"Who are you both? What are you doing here?" Brambleclaw marched up to them and stared, looking unfriendly.

_He's a lot different than I remember him being. _Shrewpaw and Swiftpaw turned to face him; Tigerstar's son's amber eyes went wide with shock.

"Shrewpaw," he whispered.

"_Remember, Shrewpaw. When we get to the ThunderClan camp, act like a clueless mousebrain." _

"Who's Shrewpaw?" The brown tom tilted his head to the side; he tried his hardest to look like he didn't have a clue.

Brambleclaw shook himself out of his shock. "Of course you wouldn't know him. Anyway, why are you here?"

_I know him better than you imagine, and I'm here because this is my home. _He let Swiftpaw answer this time, since Brambleclaw was still staring like he was a ghost.

"Greetings. My name is Swift, and this is Shrew. We lived beyond the woods to the east." He turned his gaze off to the side and nodded towards WindClan territory. "Our mother and father told us about the lake clans, so we decided to take a look for ourselves."

"You can't just march onto our territory when you feel like it!" A new voice joined their conversation. It was Berrynose. "Drive them out, Brambleclaw!"

The deputy seemed to be considering it.

"W-wait!" Shrewpaw begged with desperation creeping into his mew. This _had _to work! "We have no place else to go. _Please _let us talk to your clan leader!"

"Fine," the tom agreed; he started to pad up to Firestar's den.

Berrynose followed him. "Brambleclaw, you can't be serious! Two random strangers?!"

"If you had forgotten, Berrynose, your mother was a random stranger. You don't have more of a right to be here than they do." He turned away from Daisy's kit and started back for his previous destination. Berrynose, knowing that he was defeated, growled and headed towards Brackenfur, who was going out hunting.

As they sat and waited, Shrewpaw glanced around the camp. A gray tom was staring at them from the medicine den- Jaypaw, he knew. Leafpool was mewing something to him, and he continued watching Swiftpaw and Shrewpaw before disappearing towards where Leafpool was waiting for him with her tail twitching impatiently.

_Jaypaw was in the prophecy. If he really does have the power of the stars in his paws, then does he know about us? _There was no way of knowing without explaining everything, so he decided to let it drop for now.

Since their journey across WindClan and ThunderClan, the sun had set slightly, and the torturous greenleaf heat had lessened to a comfortable temperature. Ferncloud had ushered Foxkit and Icekit out of the nursery for a little while. The pair was play fighting on the ground, and their mother watched nearby; Shrewpaw felt pain as he saw his mother.

"This is them, yes?"

"Correct."

Brambleclaw had finally returned with Firestar behind him. The flame colored tom looked at them with the same shock Brambleclaw had.

"Greetings, Firestar. I am Swift and this is my brother, Shrew. Our mother and father told us all about the clans, so we were hoping you would accept us."

"Where are your mother and father now?" Firestar narrowed his eyes. "Why did you not stay with them?"

"They… died." Swiftpaw turned away in mock sorrow, making sure to show the ThunderClan cats his horrible and long neck scars. They crossed all over his bodies like needles from the pine trees in ShadowClan's territory, if those needles grew a lot longer.

Both toms in took sharp breaths. "I'm sorry," Firestar whispered.

"Something doesn't make sense." More cats had crowded around Swiftpaw and Shrewpaw; Ashfur had spoken. "How would a rogue know of the clans? We haven't been here that long. Who are your parents, young ones?"

Shrewpaw was flooded with panic. "Our father was, uh…"

"Our mother said that his name was Sootfur."

Wails of shock echoed around the clan; Shrewpaw felt like joining them. Swiftpaw was taking a big risk. While that would increase their chances of being let in, nothing made sense that way. For one thing, they would be a lot older if Sootfur was their father. Also, their mother would have to look a certain way a long with her mother and father.

_He's thinking that their too shocked to realize those things._

The wails had turned into soft muttering between the clan members.

"Didn't Sootfur go missing for a bit during the journey?"

"After hunting?"

"Yeah! He claimed to be lost, but what if he had found a she-cat?"

"What if…"

Firestar suddenly yowled for silence. "I want to see Brambleclaw, Leafpool, Dustpelt, Thornclaw, and Sandstorm. We will discuss this in private. As for Shrew and Swift, I want you to wait with Cloudtail, Brightheart, and Ashfur as guards. You are not permitted to leave the camp for any reason. The rest of you continue on with what you were doing."

As ThunderClan started to disperse and the former StarClan cats were left with guards, Shrewpaw began to wonder if they had made the wrong decision. What would happen if they weren't allowed to stay? Would StarClan take them back? Would he die again?

"I'm telling you," Swiftpaw whispered out of the three warriors' earshot, "something will go wrong this night. I can feel it."

Shrewpaw shrugged. A little while later, Firestar and the senior warriors padded back to them. "We talked it over, and we could not come to an agreement. You will be left with guards until morning, and we will decide then. Cloudtail, make sure the rotation happens."

"Yes, Firestar."

With nothing else to do, Shrewpaw laid down and shut his eyes.

That was when he began to dream.


	8. Dreaming of Light

Shrewpaw opened his eyes, spotting familiar starry shapes all around him. The air was eerily calm and, when he looked up, the tom saw a purple sky with no sun or moon that he so hated. Purple sky…

"_StarClan?!" _The apprentice jumped to his feet, shooting his head from side to side. "Th-this can't be happening. How can I be-"

"I want to see Bluestar, Yellowfang, and Spottedleaf _now!" _A she-cat's yowl split through the peace like a claw through flesh. The StarClan cats, once lying around lazily, sat up one by one; they murmured anxiously to each other. Shrewpaw, formerly sitting on the dust path that led to the apprentice's hollow, tried to push his way through the growing crowd of StarClan. The anxious voices around him grew like a wave until he couldn't hear what was going on anymore.

The three ThunderClan cats were speaking with the she-cat, that much Shrewpaw knew. _I have to get closer, _he thought. _That voice sounded like Light. _He looked around for a tree to climb or an empty space in the clan cats, but there didn't seem to be one. As he glanced to his left, Shrewpaw could've sworn that he saw a pair of blue eyes staring back at him. Shrewpaw frowned, and the gaze disappeared as if it had never existed.

"I knew Swiftpaw and Shrewpaw were trouble! They just couldn't deal with death, could they?"

Shrewpaw missed most of the conversation, but he could make an accurate assumption as to what had happened when a small queen next to him called out. Light must have gone to StarClan to speak with the three she-cats from ThunderClan when she saw that Cinderpelt was reborn. Also, she told them about Tigerstar, Hawkfrost, Swiftpaw, and him.

"I say we destroy the land beneath the Severing Waters! It's not needed anymore!"

The brown tom trembled as the fury of the dead clan rose. Like a lightning bolt, they struck past the bright she-cat and disappeared into the woods surrounding their lake camp. He was suddenly alone; it felt odd after being crammed between his former clan.

Shrewpaw shut his eyes and sighed. He was clearly dreaming, since Light was still standing in the entrance to the camp, and she hadn't come over to speak with him. That didn't make sense, though. If he was asleep, then why was he experiencing something that only Jaypaw should be seeing?

The brown tom opened his eyes again, shocked to see himself at Light's home. The white she-cat was standing over her boulder that was now destroyed.

"They stuck to their promise," Light muttered to herself, voicing Shrewpaw's saddened thoughts. He may not have liked the she-cat, but this was depressing him. "What can I do now? I have no where to go…"

"L-Light," he murmured, knowing she wouldn't hear him. "I'm sorry."

The white cat's shining eyes suddenly snapped open. She gasped. "I may still have a use yet."

"What are you talking about? They destroyed your boulder!" Shrewpaw watched her race past him. She climbed up a path that Shrewpaw and Swiftpaw didn't notice on their trip down to the land below the Severing Waters. He shrugged and padded after her, following her scent more than using his eyes. The path sloped up and up, growing darker than the night with every pawstep. Suddenly, it straightened, and the brown apprentice found himself smothered in pine trees. They pricked at his skin, making Shrewpaw hiss. He lowered his head and stared at his paws while weaving around the trees; he used Light's strong scent as a guide.

"ShadowClan." As Shrewpaw finally made it out of the woods, he spotted Light standing in the Meeting Pool. Her eyes were open and fixed on the pool; they seemed to see something that no other cat could. "Moons from now. Deputy. Fight. Tiger."

_What is she babbling about? _Shrewpaw wished he could talk to her. "Have you finally lost it, Light?"

"Are you stupid? It's so obvious."

"Ah! J-Jaypaw, what are you doing here?" The gray tom was at his side; his tai softly rocked back and forth against the dust.

"I should ask you the same thing, Shrew. It's Shrewpaw, though, right?" His eyes, now with sight in the dream, seemed to confront Shrewpaw more than his words. They bored straight through his flesh, making the formerly dead apprentice shiver like it was leaf-bare.

"You don't miss much, do you?"

"I saw the scene back at StarClan's camp," Squirrelflight's kit continued, turning back to Light. "It was clear when Light said that you, Shrewpaw, Tigerstar, and Hawkfrost were alive." He licked his paw calmly as if he were speaking about were to find poppy seeds. Drawing it over his ear, he spoke again. "Before you ask, I know about Cinderpelt."

"How-" Shrewpaw broke off when Light began to shine brighter than her eyes. Instead of falling in the pool like Shrewpaw and Swiftpaw had, her light grew and grew. Challenging the shine of the sun, she vanished before the toms' eyes.

"Where did she go?" The brown tom charged up to the pool; it gave a loud splash when he reached the place where Light once stood. "Where is she?!"

"At what point did you think I'd have an answer for you? Really, Shrewpaw, you're not that bright." Jaypaw continued washing himself. One blue eye was open, and it watched Shrewpaw like a hunter before it pounced.

"I have to know," the once-dead cat whispered. He gave up flailing in the water and stood, dripping wet even in the dream. "She would have the answers for me. Why am I having this dream, Jaypaw? You and your kin are the cats with the power of the stars in their paws; I'm not. Why am I seeing these things? I just want a normal life."

Rather than being soothing, Jaypaw snorted. "Normal life? I think that option was destroyed when you died."

Shrewpaw opened his mouth to speak, but the area around him and the gray tom grew dark like a cloud over the moon. He looked up, blinked, and found himself staring into the face of Cloudtail. The bright sun reflected behind the white warrior, almost blinding Shrewpaw.

"Good, you're up." Cloudtail flicked his tail towards Firestar's den. "Firestar wants to speak to you. It's the big day. Today, he's going to tell you if you can join ThunderClan."

**Only two pages on Word (most of my chapters are three), but I'm expecting the next chapter to be long. It's pretty much obvious what Firestar's response will be, so it's not like I'm the Cliffhanger Queen.**

**Special thanks to keetongu, who has reviewed every chapter. You get an internet thank you cookie. :)**


	9. Clan of Birth

Shrewpaw hesitated before padding into Firestar's den. This was it; the time had finally come when the clan leader would announce whether or not he and Swiftpaw would stay in ThunderClan. Shrewpaw was nervous, however. A large part of him feared rejection from the flame colored tom.

"Get on with it!" Cloudtail, standing behind Swiftpaw who was next to the brown tom, growled.

"It'll be alright, Shrewpaw." Swiftpaw lowered his mew so that Shrewpaw struggled to hear him. "Light wouldn't have sent us down here if she didn't believe Firestar would accept us. Anyway, he accepted Daisy, and she's the most pathetic cat in all of existence. We'll be fine. Sootfur's our father, remember?" He smiled with confidence and disappeared into the den.

As Shrewpaw trailed behind his companion, his anxiety increased to the point where he wondered if the life of a rogue would be so bad. What if they did get accepted, and someone found out about them? What if they couldn't stop Tigerstar and Hawkfrost? What if Light or StarClan took them back? What if-

His pessimistic thoughts were interrupted by Firestar's strong meow. The leader was lying on his nest; Brambleclaw, Sandstorm, and Graystripe were with him. "Greetings, Shrew and Swift. Cloudtail, thank you for retrieving them. You may go." The white warrior dipped his head and turned towards the exit, yet the last longing glance he sent the den told Shrewpaw that he wanted to stay and hear what was going to happen.

After his nephew left, Firestar continued. "When I was still the young deputy of ThunderClan, we had an apprentice who thought he was mistreated by not receiving his warrior name. He took Brightheart- Brightpaw at the time, and she's Cloudtail's mate now- and they launched an attack on the dog pack living at Snakerocks…" His green eyes clouded as if Swiftpaw's dead body was once again at his paws. "He was killed."

"Why are you telling us this?" Swiftpaw glanced away from the cats in front of him. The early morning sunshine brought a dim light into the den, illuminating the scars on Longtail's former apprentice.

Sandstorm spoke this time. "My daughter had a friend in the old forest where we used to live. Twolegs were destroying our home; as you can imagine, prey was very scarce. Thornclaw took his apprentice hunting, and my daughter's friend was killed by a Twoleg monster."

Heart pounding, Shrewpaw felt as if he could once again feel the pain shoot through his body. His neck wound began to throb.

"Why are you telling us this?" Swiftpaw repeated himself and stared into Firestar's eyes.

"Because," the tom replied, "those cats were named Swiftpaw and Shrewpaw."

Shrewpaw did his best to hide his neck wound and look surprised. It was difficult since he had actually lived through one of the scenarios they had described. Glancing to his left, he could see Swiftpaw trying the same; it was harder for him to hide his wounds.

Brambleclaw muttered something under his breath. It was clear that he noticed their lack of shock; Firestar and Sandstorm were fooled by the acting.

"What happened to you two?" Tigerstar's son padded up to them and nosed Swiftpaw's scarred pelt along with Shrewpaw's messed up neck.

"I'd rather not talk about it," whispered Swiftpaw. He dramatically dropped his tail to the ground and clamped his eyes shut. "Bad memories."

_You've got that right. _Shrewpaw attempted to change the subject. "Does this mean we aren't going to be able to join ThunderClan?"

"Great StarClan, no! Of course you can stay; we'd never reject Sootfur's kin. The ceremony will be held shortly. I need to speak with Sandstorm and Brambleclaw about mentors."

Shrewpaw's heart soared. He was going to finish his training! "Thank you so much!"

Sandstorm purred in amusement. "Why don't the pair of you go and meet the other apprentices?"

"Great idea!" Bounding out of the den with Swiftpaw at his heels, Shrewpaw felt as if he was a kit fresh out of the nursery once again. The tom felt like he could jump down from Firestar's den and _fly. _His good mood was ruined, however, the moment he turned and fell right on top of Jaypaw.

"Hey, watch it!" The prickly tom snarled and jumped to his feet. "Well, well, well. It's Shrewpaw. Or are you still hiding behind the name of Shrew?"

"Mousebrain! You told him about us?!" Swiftpaw lashed his tail and hissed; Shrewpaw thought he'd pounce on him.

"No. You clearly forgot that Jaypaw is one of the cats with the power of the stars in his paws." Shrewpaw lowered his voice. No cat was nearby, but the risk was too great to be taken.

Swiftpaw nodded and didn't speak, so Jaypaw continued. "The both of you are fools. This isn't your time to live. You had your chance and missed it. Swiftpaw, you should've worked harder to impress Bluestar in a way that wouldn't have threatened your life. Shrewpaw, you shouldn't have been spacing worse than a Twoleg spotting us run by." He snorted. "Now you've thrown the entire forest into jeopardy just because you thought StarClan was unfair to you two. Guess what, Selfishpaws? You died. Deal with it."

Swiftpaw growled. "You don't get it, Jaypaw! You'll never understand the crap I've been through, so shut up and get your facts straight first. I highly suggest you get these," he spat at the juniper berries now scattered around them from the collision, barely missing them, "to Leafpool before I rip all of your _fur off!"_

They had gathered an audience from Swiftpaw's rant; to Shrewpaw's relief, none of them questioned how they knew Leafpool.

"What's going on?"

"Settle down, all of you!"

"It seems like Firestar's making a mistake. Swift is pretty violent."

_No! _"Stop it, Swiftp- I mean, you two! You're going to be clanmates after the ceremony, so stop fighting!" He was just as angry as Swiftpaw was, but there was no reason to skin Jaypaw because of it. That would make things worse, and they didn't need worse. Shrewpaw padded in front of Swiftpaw; he cut off the tom's sight of Jaypaw.

Swiftpaw hissed. "Out of my way! I swear I'll-"

"You'll what? Ruin everything we've been through because you can't hold back your anger?"

"You're just going to accept what he said?! What's wrong with you? He openly mocked us and said that we're the lowest of lows, but you think that's okay?"

"Of course I don't!" Shrewpaw cursed under his breath. Jaypaw was sitting back with a smirk plastered on his face, and Shrewpaw would've liked to have flayed him then, but what caught his attention was Firestar padding out of his den. He would see the crowd; Shrewpaw prayed that he could at least make Swiftpaw settle down. "Look. Not everyone is going to accept us…" He hissed under his voice. "Think about Light. We proved ourselves to her; we can do it again."

"I don't need to prove myself to anyone! You shouldn't either!"

"Things don't work that way!" The brown tom scraped the ground with a front paw.

Swiftpaw arched his back, lashed his tail, and narrowed his eyes at Shrewpaw and Jaypaw threatingly. "Oh, foxdung!" He whirled around and pushed his way past Honeypaw and Cinderpaw. The two she-cats were staring at Shrewpaw and Jaypaw with open shock.

"Wait! Swiftp-uh, stop!" Shrewpaw followed his friend, but the tom just glared at him and settled down outside of the apprentices' den.

The crowd began to break up; it was soon revealed that Firestar was the reason. The ThunderClan leader was standing next to Jaypaw, and he frowned as the medicine cat apprentice wouldn't speak.

"Shrew! Come over here." The brown tom, heart thudding like a startled bird, slowly made his way over to Firestar. "What happened? What is wrong with your brother?"

"He, well, got into a fight with Jaypaw. I tried to calm him down, but he ended up yelling at me as well…"

"I could see that for myself." Firestar's whiskers twitched. "What was it about? Jaypaw, what did you say to him?"

_Please, Jaypaw, _please _don't give us away! _"I…" The gray tom frowned. He glanced around, seemed satisfied, then spoke. "I told Swiftpaw that he didn't stand a chance with Hollypaw." Shrewpaw held back a thankful and shocked cry. "Shrew backed me up, right Shrew?"

"Eh? Uh, yeah! I mean, _Hollypaw? _Come on." He grunted.

Firestar narrowed his eyes, shrugged, and glanced up to the Highledge. "It's time. Shrew, get your brother and come with me. We should have your apprentice ceremony now."

**Questions for those of you good with family trees! **

**a) Are Cinderpaw and Poppypaw related? I know Sootfur and Sorreltail were littermates, so that makes Cinderpaw and possibly Poppypaw cousins to Shrewpaw and Swiftpaw since they lied about Sootfur, correct? **

**b) Okay, so I've been informed that Swiftpaw is Goldenflower's kit. Who is the father? Does it say?**

**Wow. Looking back, Swiftpaw is really emo. I'm so sorry, Swiftpaw fans.**


	10. Shrewpaw and Swiftpaw's Video Game Hate

Greetings, world; it is I, Shrewpaw.

Wow. That looks weird on… What is it that this is called? Paper? Oh, well. The human language scares me more than when Graystripe was denied fresh-kill because Berrynose was pulling a "prank", so let's just go with thing-that-Moonfire-should-be-typing-on-which-I-now-am. That works.

Yes, she is lazy enough to make poor lil' 'ol me type for her while she squeals over Tales of Symphonia 2: Dawn of the New World and some Twoleg named Johnny Bosch (voice actor, I believe she said), so Swiftpaw and I will attempt to remember what had happened that day.

It was probably bright, but who cares? Silverpelt could have turned green, but how would that have made a difference? The fact is that the day that I am now clawing my brain to remember was the day I became an official apprentice (again). After dragging Swiftpaw from what Moonfire is now saying to call an "emo corner" (cue a dark look from Swiftpaw, seated next to me on a Twoleg thing), we met Firestar in all his glory on the Highledge. He was the same as always, "fur turning into fire under the sun". That sounds awfully dangerous to me, and all I can say is that I'm glad _my _fur doesn't turn into something that kills cats faster than you can breathe.

My kind-of clan leader stared down at us and, according to Swiftpaw, mewed the following.

"Is your fight over?" He still looked displeased from the quarrel (another weird Twoleg word that Moonfire told me to add in since "using fight again would be redundant", whatever that means).

"Yes, Firestar." I spoke before Swiftpaw could say the truth- he was still mad at me, and I wouldn't doubt him to remain that way for a long time, the jerk. Oh, what, you don't like me typing that, Swiftpaw? Deal with it; _I _have the paper thing. Haha. Yes, I _am_ going to type what I meow, so the Twolegs out there know the truth. Shut up, and we can move on with no problems. Well, _almost _no problems.

"Good." Glancing up to where the anxious cats of ThunderClan were already gathered (by now, word of the ceremony had traveled around to probably as far as WindClan. Blame Berrynose and his inability to not keep his big mouth shut). All cats were below, fidgeting to stay occupied; Firestar called out the usual ceremony regardless, and I was seated below him with Swiftpaw, feeling once again like a kit.

"Swift and Shrew are joining us as apprentices." Half of the clan looked angry; the other looked down with their ears back and tails drooping. I wanted to claw the angry halves' ears off, but that would certainly not go over well with Light, now would it? I'm not fond of dying again, and feeling that pressure all over one more, and my life flashing before my eyes, and everything going dark, and wanting to die, and at the same time not, and I really, really, _really_ wanting Squirrelpaw, and I still do, and it's Squirrelflight now, right?, and I-jd;fhsa

Please excuse that interruption, Twolegs. I, Swiftpaw, will finish this stupid assignment started by our lazy Johnny Bosch obsessed Moonfire while Shrewpaw is still unconscious from-well, you don't need to know. I apologize for that "and I" fest on his behalf.

To make a long story short, Firestar was quickly finished addressing the clan, and (I refuse to type that anymore after that.) he started to assign us mentors. In Swiftpaw Land, he murdered Berrynose in the process while locking Jaypaw in a badger cave, but, sadly, Swiftpaw Land only exists in my heart. How sad.

"I will be Swiftpaw's mentor, and Brambleclaw will mentor Shrewpaw."

Who's shocked there? I'm not. Firestar doesn't trust us, so of course he'll make himself my mentor and (grr) Brambleclaw Shrewpaw's. Speaking of him, he stared at our once-again leader, eyes wide and (ugh) mouth wider than Highstones. Fool. He must be insane to think we'd be treated like average cats.

Anyway, we were welcomed into the apprentices' den better than the one in StarClan. At least here we could be certain that we were related to them all as clan members. I took a spot that smelled faintly of one of Berrynose's siblings, and Shrewpaw took the one that I was sure smelled like him. Apparently, Shrewpaw didn't care; his mind, I knew, was still on Brambleclaw becoming his mentor.

Well, I'm too lazy to type anymore. If you'll kindly excuse me, I'm going to play the Wii with Moonfire. That's a total lie, and I'm probably going to sleep somewhere, but who cares?

I'm not the one who should be typing this.


	11. Relearning What was Known

**Zzz… Eh? Wha? What'd I do? Geez, school is **_**tough **_**right now! I'm getting barely seven hours of sleep per night (and that's on a good day). Coke, meet me. Love me. If you don't, tough.**

**This is an abusive love.**

Shrewpaw was bored.

Who would know that being taken around territory was more dull than listening to the elders tell and retell the tales of Firestar and all of his greatness? Though the brown apprentice was glad to be out of StarClan, he was starting to wish he was back there.

"And this," Brambleclaw mewed, flicking his tail to the moor, "is-"

_The border between ThunderClan and WindClan, _Shrewpaw thought, mentally rolling his eyes. This was _such _a waste of time. Brambleclaw had been taking him around the "new territory", thinking his apprentice didn't already know his way around. Little did he and the rest of ThunderClan know, Shrewpaw helped _pick out _the lake territory.

"-the border between ThunderClan and WindClan," meowed Tigerstar's son, perfectly echoing Shrewpaw's thoughts. "WindClan's-"

_Leader is Onestar._

"-leader is Onestar."

_Aww. Aren't you going to mention Crowfeather or the Great Journey? I'd _love _to hear that one again! StarClan's elders only told me it more times than they mentioned Firestar._

The brown tom sighed, opened his mouth, and focused on his surroundings. Hungar had been clawing at his stomach like an angry badger for ages; a part of him hoped that Brambleclaw would be impressed with his apprentice's knowledge of warrior skills, and maybe, just maybe, his training would be bumped up to par with that from Thornclaw.

Shrewpaw could easily scent the salt emitting from the lake behind him, and he would have been able to hear it crashing if his nose failed him. A large array of prey scents circled him; everything from mice to rabbits and blackbirds met his eager self.

"…where we met the Tribe of Rushing Water."

_Brambleclaw, Brambleclaw, Brambleclaw… _

Sticking his ears straight into the air, Shrewpaw bounced to his feet and put on his best I'm-a-hyper-young-apprentice face. "Let's hunt!"

Brambleclaw chuckled. "Easy there. You have a long way to go before you could catch any prey. We haven't even covered crouches yet."

"But Brambleclaaaaw! I'm hungryyyy!" He whined and felt foolish, but the act worked. With a heavy sigh, Shrewpaw's mentor gave in.

"Fine, then. What can you scent?"

Shrewpaw was ready for this one. "A mouse over there," the brown tom pointed to a nearby tree, "rabbit near the WindClan border, and I'm pretty sure there's a blackbird in the trees."

"How did you get all of that so quickly?" Brambleclaw's eyes widened.

"Can we just go?"

He frowned. "I was hoping to take you to ShadowClan today, since we have just enough time before it gets to be too dark…"

Shrewpaw could feel his belly protest. Before thinking about the consequences of his words, he blurted out his anger. "Ugh! Geez, Brambleclaw, you're driving me insane! I know all about ShadowClan and all this other mousedung! Sha-" His mind hastily caught up with his words, and he caught his outburst before he said anything too stupid.

"You do? How?" The deputy frowned and tilted his head to the side.

"I-I-uh… Heard about it from my father! Yeah! And, uh, a few other apprentices said… stuff… and, ya' know, the, uh, elders!" _Could your lie sound any more obvious, Shrewpaw, you fool?!_

"O… kay, then." He still seemed curious. "I guess we can go over there anyway, and you can get accustomed to their scent."

Shrewpaw just shrugged; he trailed behind his mentor as they dashed through the forest. Scents flew past him, causing drool to pile up in his mouth. _Mouseeee…. Rabitttt…. Swiftpawww…. Wait, Swiftpaw? _As Brambleclaw led Shrewpaw in front of a tree that quickly blocked sight, Shrewpaw caught a glimpse of Firestar with Swiftpaw. Shrewpaw's "brother" was watching the flame colored cat with his tail twitching and ears back. Clearly, Longtail's old apprentice was not having a good day.

The two toms quickly arrived close to the border. When they were not quite there, Brambleclaw stopped faster than Shrewpaw anticipated, causing the younger cat to slam into the deputy.

"Gimme a little warning, will ya'?! Hey, Brambleclaw! I'm talking to _you!_ Hello?!"

Again without warning, the cat's tail was thrown across Shrewpaw's mouth. "Quiet! I smell ShadowClan on our side of the border!"

Shrewpaw frowned, then sniffed the air. He, too, could smell the intruders, but something wasn't quite right.He easily detected just one cat.

The bushes around the pair rustled; Brambleclaw tensed and unsheathed his claws. "When I give the order," he whispered, "run to ThunderClan."

"I think we'll be fine," Shrewpaw mewed back. "It's just one ca-"

"Russetfur!" Brambleclaw yowled as the scent drew closer. "What are you doing on ThunderClan territory?!"

The ShadowClan deputy made her way out of the surrounding plants, all the while hissing about how much she hated ThunderClan territory. Something about her voice seemed off to Shrewpaw, but he kept his concerns to himself.

"Oh, keep your mousebrained comments to yourself, Brambleclaw. If it weren't for me, your days would be filled with pain and misery."

"What in StarClan's name are you talking about?" The tom's guard was slightly lowered. He narrowed his eyes at Russetfur. "Is old age creeping up on you?"

She ignored the age comment. "StarClan? Don't make me laugh, dear, foolish clan cat; StarClan is nothing without me."

_It _can't _be… It just can't! _Gazing into the eyes he had prayed to never see again, Shrewpaw nearly chocked. "Light?!"

**I had a plan for this chapter. I know I did. Shrewpaw was supposed to have some dream. Or was it Swiftpaw? Or maybe even Jaypaw? Uh… -bites lip- Yeah. Let's just go with this.**

**Maybe, if I leave it at a cliffhanger, all of my current ideas will flood back when I reread this chapter before writing the next one.**

**This story has been fairly fast paced so far, but it's going to slow down a **_**lot **_**now that I brought Light back.**


	12. Light's Lament

**Before I start this chapter, I have a few important announcements.**

**Come March, I'm starting driver's ed. -shudders- I've heard it's the most boring class in the world, but I have to take it eventually. Tomorrow, I'm going to get the information on when the class meets and at what times.**

**When summer rolls around (somewhere around sixty days from today), my -insert bad names here- step-dad is forcing me to get a job. Who would hire a sixteen year old (I'm fifteen now, but my birthday is in March) who can only work on Tuesdays, Sundays, and Saturdays (those are the only days my mother gets off), especially during an economic recession, I have no idea.**

**What does all this mean for you? Well, there are going to be less chapters coming up. There's already very few, but divide zero. (I know that's impossible. That's the point.)**

Although warm, greenleaf sunlight was pounding on Shrewpaw's back, the young cat was shivering. His throat was slowly closing up into a choke, and he barely managed to stammer out some words. "Light. You… back here? I-we-Swiftpa… Go?"

Light purred. "Oh, Shrewpaw, Shrewpaw, Shrewpaw."

Brambleclaw growled, reminding both cats that he was still, in fact, there. "You know this she-cat, Shrewpaw? I thought she was Russetfur, the ShadowClan deputy." The large tom surveyed Light, who looked very different from the last time Shrewpaw had seen her. She really did look exactly like Russetfur, which worried the apprentice. Light had told him that Hawkfrost and Tigerstar killed and took the bodies of Flamekit and Tigerkit, two of Tawnypelt's kits, so, if they were going to aim for a leadership position in ShadowClan to get revenge on the other clans, then the deputy would be the first target.

"She's…" Shrewpaw struggled for a word to describe his relationship with the she-cat. "A… friend?"

"It is nice to see you, Brambleclaw of ThunderClan. I must speak with Shrewpaw and Swiftpaw alone."

"I can't allow that," mewed Brambleclaw. "You show up out of no where and expect me to leave you with two new cats of my clan?"

Light snarled, reveling rows of threatening, glistening teeth. "I _demand _to speak with these apprentices!"

Shrewpaw held his breath; it seemed as if the whole forest went silent along with him when not one bird dared to sing. _If it comes to a fight, _he thought, _I'm betting on Light._

"I _won't let you," _repeated Brambleclaw. "I don't trust you."

Light narrowed her eyes and hissed. "You don't know me, so why not? What d'ya think will happen? It's not like I'm telling them how to destroy ThunderClan, so shut your mouth, and let me speak with this apprentice and Swiftpaw!"

"What could possibly be so important that you refuse to say it in front of other cats?"

After the large tom finished speaking, Shrewpaw turned his gaze to Light; the she-cat was shaking, and her shimmering eyes were the sharpest claws cutting through the grass below the three cats. She let out the most hate-filled hiss that Shrewpaw had ever heard, and, for many heartbeats, every cat stood in silence while she unsheathed her claws and ripped them through the ground below.

Suddenly, her gaze brightened. "Fine. Do you really want to know?" She paused until Brambleclaw nodded. Light narrowed her eyes to half slits and sighed slowly. "It's Shrewpaw's mother."

"Huh?" Both toms meowed.

"Yes," she verified. "You see…" She paused dramatically. "She left two poor, helpless kits all alone in the very _height _of leaf-bare. No food or water for these small, cold kits, who wanted nothing more than a mother to wrap them in her loving embrace and give them shelter from the pounding snow! But, of course, they did not have that, for their mother was tragically taken away from them!""Heh?" Shrewpaw blinked.

"Yes, Shrewpaw! You were too young to remember, but your dear, sweet mother was taken from you! You had no where to go, no food to eat- _nothing! _Then, like the noble cat that he is-" Light clamped her eyes shut and in took a quick breath, "-_was, _your uncle swooped in and, when it seemed all hope was lost, _saved _you and Swiftpaw! He truly was an amazing cat, the best of us all! _But-"_

"But?" Brambleclaw echoed her.

"_But, _proving to be an even _greater _tragedy, he-he-heee _died! _Oh, poor, innocent Shrewpaw, I lament at having to pass on this dreadful news to you! How I wish there was some cat, perhaps sharing in some of your great uncle's nobility, who would take me in to ThunderClan for a moment and allow me to express my deepest sorrows to Swiftpaw! Alas, I daresay that there is no such cat around! I truly just wished for the honor- nay, the _privilege_- of being the cat who, I must say this humbly, could speak the name of such a wondrous cat as your uncle in the mixed company of-"

"Enough!"Brambleclaw gasped. "Please, for StarClan's sake, shut up! Just… shut up!"

Light looked up at the large tom and blinked at him. "May I go and see Swiftpaw then?"

"I still don't think that you-"

"I haven't told you of their uncle's times as an apprentice yet!"

"-can go fast enough."

"Thank you, Brambley!" Light, with a wink hiss of satisfaction, herded Shrewpaw in the direction of the ThunderClan camp. The brown tom was led through a bush; he was then out of the sight of his mentor.

"…Brambley?" Brambleclaw shook his head. "I will _never _speak of this moment again."

**Short chapter, but it's getting pretty late, and I want to go make brownies…**


	13. I See Dead Cats

**Hey, faithful, wonderful readers. I'm so sorry this update is so late, but my home life has been **_**very **_**bad recently. It's been really affecting my update schedule (obviously), even though summer break has been going on since about May twenty-first. Things should hopefully settle down soon, but I'm moving in with my father, so updates should be even later than normal. I'm sorry.**

"So, do you want to tell me what's _really _going on?" Shrewpaw panted to his she-cat companion as the pair raced towards the ThunderClan camp. Birds sang out overhead, and the pounding sun made Shrewpaw feel like he had just run three laps around the lake.

"Aww, you don't believe what I told Brambly? Oh ye of little faith!" Light shook her head and rounded a large oak tree.

"Of course I don't believe that crap! Now, tell me what's going on! Why are you here?!"

Light ignored his question and kept running; she was just fast enough to where Shrewpaw couldn't get close enough to look her in the eyes. If he could, however, the simple glance that he would've gotten while dashing would have told Light's recent past- her encounter with StarClan, shown to him by the overwhelming anger in her every look around at the forest, and the soft yet still there sadness for everything she had lost in the destruction of her home.

It would have been enough to be an unspoken answer, yet Shrewpaw couldn't manage to catch her. Every time he was so much as a tail-length away, Light would manage to get a little faster. The brown apprentice was absolutely worn out; he certainly couldn't talk because of the extreme speed she was running at.

Suddenly, Light skidded to a halt, causing Shrewpaw to collide into her. She scented the air and looked from side to side like a young medicine cat apprentice, unable to find the herb he or she was looking for, even though it was right under their nose.

"Warn me next time," hissed Shrewpaw.

"I smell Swiftpaw. Where is he?"

"Out with Firestar, his mentor," answered Shrewpaw. "I think he told me they were training near the WindClan border."

Light, nodding, was gone just as quickly as she had stopped. Shrewpaw moaned with the thought of running again, but he managed to keep up with her. For some unspoken reason, Light was a lot slower this time.

_She wants to keep me worn out, so I can't ask her what's going on, _realized Shrewpaw. _That arrogant little-_

"Oh, _Swiftpaw!_" When Light finally reached the clearing where Firestar was doing practice fighting moves with Swiftpaw she charged up to him and dramatically acted upset by quietly whimpering. "I'm _sooooo _sorry, you poor thing! Oh, oh… Swiftpaw!"

"Light. Uh, what are you doing?" He stared unemotionally at the she-cat.

"I came as soon as I could!"

"What are you doing here?!"

Shrewpaw turned from the acting she-cat and his "brother." Firestar had stood from his crouch and watched Swiftpaw with a tilted head and slow blinking.

"Shrewpaw, who is this she-cat? She looks like Russetfur and the scent is the same as her, but there's no way that's Russetfur."

"A… friend of mine," lied Shrewpaw, "and she came with news for Swiftpaw and me. We need to speak with her in private."

Firestar shook his head. "I don't know any of the three of you well enough to-"

"Talk to Brambleclaw. He'll explain everything."

Firestar frowned, then glanced to Light and Swiftpaw. He narrowed his eyes, listened to Light's rant about the fake uncle, and ran off.

Shrewpaw took a few breaths, still slightly tired from their earlier dash, and sat. "What's _going on?! _Why are you here? What happened to Russetfur? Wh-"

"All in good time, my dear Shrewpaw, all in good time." Light's shimmering gaze looked to Shrewpaw and Swiftpaw, then padded forward and sat in front of the brown apprentice. She licked her paw and ignored the prying eyes of the two apprentices.

"Well?" Swiftpaw meowed.

"So pushy," she muttered. "Well, you two, I'm not going to stall it any longer." She briefly shut her eyes. "Russetfur was murdered."

Neither Swiftpaw nor Shrewpaw were surprised; they had expected news like this since returning to ThunderClan alive. It still made Shrewpaw wince.

_Next is going to be Blackstar, I bet._

"What about Blackstar?" Swiftpaw asked.

"I don't know," she replied. "After taking her body, I left ShadowClan."

"Why are you here?"

"Because ShadowClan is going to be destroyed from the inside." Light sat down under a large tree and stared at the pair. "Russetfur's murder will make clanmate suspect clanmate. ShadowClan will be engulfed in a war on the inside until Tigerstar and Hawkfrost manage to take over, promising a load of foxdung about saving the clan."

"But you're Russetfur… sort of," protested Swiftpaw with a small frown. "Why didn't you just stay put and pretend to be her?"

Light sighed. "I wish it were that easy. A few apprentices saw her corpse, and they're still alive. I couldn't pretend to come back from the dead; everything would be worse."

_She's right, _Shrewpaw realized. ShadowClan was doomed no matter what, and Tigerstar would get his way, even if he couldn't take over with his son. The clan would either barely survive with him or be destroyed without.

"Why did you come to us?" Shrewpaw asked her. "Why didn't you stay put?"

An emotion stirred within Light- one that Shrewpaw couldn't begin to understand the origin of. Her once-calm sitting position morphed into her leaping up and snarling at him, ears back and tail flicking.

"You know what, puny apprentice of some traitor clan? There's more to life than stupid questions! Try figuring things out on your own for once! Never rely on others; they'll just betray you and leave you and everything you once loved in ruin and dust! You got that?!" Light trembled in her anger and memories, then whirled around and disappeared.

"She's heading toward WindClan," noted Swiftpaw, not appearing surprised at her outburst like Shrewpaw was. "C'mon, we can't just leave her alone, especially while she looks like Russetfur. A dead cat can't walk among the living."

**Bad ending, but I don't care about anything right now other than letting you all know what's going on. Once again, I'm sorry for the extended delay; I hope to update again soon.**


	14. The Time that Passed

_A few moons later…_

Shrewfur sat at the edge of the lake alone, hearing nothing but the sound of his stomach protesting the scarce prey of leaf-bare. The sunrise stretching out in front of him marked the third moon since he had come back from the dead.

Ever since he rejoined ThunderClan with Swiftfoot, he realized that it was nearly impossible to sleep. Too many times he had gone to Leafpool and Jaypaw, only to be turned back because there was "nothing they could do," and he should "try tiring himself out with more hunting and patrols." Shrewfur should have been the medicine cat instead because none of that worked. Instead, he chose to get up early and watch the sunrise; he marked it with claw marks on the trunk of the tree he sat under, a large oak next to the lake.

"I thought I'd find you here." Swiftfoot padded down the gravel and sat next to his "brother." "Still can't sleep?"

Shrewfur snorted. "What do you think?" They sat in silence and stared out at the sky.

"Gathering's tonight," Shrewfur announced. "Do you think Tigerstar will have made his move?"

"I doubt it. He seems content as deputy."

The brown warrior snorted. "That's hilarious. Tigerstar, content not being number one. Next, I suppose you'll say Light is content not being in the Tie Between the Worlds."

Swiftfoot flicked his tail. "It's been three moons, Shrewfur. You should know; you're keeping track." He nodded to the scratches on the tree. "Tigerstar or Tigerfur or whatever hasn't done _anything. _Blackstar hasn't lost a life. And Hawkfrost, or Flamepelt, is just a warrior. An average warrior. Maybe all they wanted was to be a warrior and the deputy of ShadowClan. Maybe-"

Shrewfur interrupted him. "You don't believe that. Think of Russetfur. Tigerstar _murdered _her, then the deputy after her because he was ready to be deputy. And Blackstar appointed him. Next, on his own time, he'll be Clan leader with Hawkfrost as his deputy. That's how he is, Swiftfoot."

Swiftfoot sighed. "We'll see. You're right, I don't believe it. But a warrior can dream, can't he?"

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The past few moons had been the most eventful and uneventful of Shrewfur and Swiftfoot's lives. They received their warrior names rather quickly, being the "quickest learners the leader and deputy had ever seen." That didn't surprise either of them, since Swiftfoot should've been a young warrior when he died, and Shrewfur was fairly close to being a warrior himself.

Light had shocked them both by joining ThunderClan, but not surprising at all, she refused the warrior name they chose for her.

"You have beautiful, shining eyes, so why not Shiningeyes?" Firestar mewed innocently.

Light hissed in fury. "Because that is the most idiotic, asinine, moronic, and _stupid _name I have ever heard in my life! And believe you me, I'm not a kit any longer!"

She chose instead to keep the name Shrewfur chose for her, Light; the other clans hated this, but Firestar held his ground at that Gathering. She was still a loyal member of ThunderClan, blah, blah, blah.

Shrewfur was bored at that Gathering. This one, however, would be different. Because of his insomnia, he hunted more and went on more patrols that any cat, so he had gone to every Gathering; he was able to always keep an eye on Hawkfrost (Flamepelt) and Tigerstar (Tigerfur). Every time there was a report of dead warriors in ShadowClan, probably those who resisted the takeover. Shrewfur knew Tigerstar was going to make his move soon.

"Do you think this'll be it?" Shrewfur whispered to Light as they waited for ThunderClan to cross the bridge.

"How am I supposed to know," she hissed. "I'm _mortal _now." She followed behind Firestar and Brambleclaw and disappeared into the crowd of Clan cats on the island.

And what a crowd it was. Shrewfur was taken aback every time he went to a Gathering about just how many cats there were in the Clans, this being only a fraction of them. Tortoiseshell, tabby, tom, she-cat, RiverClan, WindClan, apprentice, warrior, elder… All types of cats were represented under the full moonlight, talking to other cats.

ThunderClan seemed to be the last to arrive, and Firestar wasted no time starting the Gathering. He howled loud enough to wake those sleeping in ThunderClan; Shrewfur seated himself next to Swiftfoot and Light.

Lionblaze sat next to him. He leaned in towards Shrewfur. "Blackstar lost his last life. Look, Tigerfur-well, Tigerstar now- is there."Shrewfur felt his heart skip a beat. Lionblaze was right, he realized. _It's time for us to act… Then what? Will Light make us return to StarClan? Is my second life over? _There was no time to worry about that now. Now, the Clans had a bigger problem.

Firestar invited Tigerstar to speak. "I come before you all the new leader of ShadowClan. Blackstar tragically lost his last life-"

_By your claws, I bet._

"-and I have assumed the leadership of my Clan with Flamepelt as my deputy."

A wide chorus of meows sounded below him. Some, especially the older ones, lamented the loss of Blackstar; a few small groups were congratulating Flamepelt and Tigerstar; the rest muttered uneasily about the leader's name, heritage, and appearance relating to the other Tigerstar.

Shrewfur thought for half a second how laughable it was that their greatest fear was in front of them, and they had no clue who it was him. But only half a second.

Firestar was clearly thinking of Tigerstar; his eyes were narrowed, and his tail twitched. He composed himself long enough to speak. "We welcome you… Tigerstar." He proceeded to talk about the events in ThunderClan; the other two followed him. Shrewfur barely heard him, though. He was too busy worrying.

"Should we tell Firestar about us?" He whispered to Swiftfoot.

"_What?! _Have you finally lost it?"

"Finally? What do you mean by-"

"That makes no sense at all, Shrewfur. What about Light? What will we say about her?" Swiftfoot whispered at the end; ThunderClan was starting to leave. The pair got to the back of the line and waited.

"He needs to know, Swiftfoot," mewed Shrewfur.

"We can handle this." Swiftfoot's tone said that the discussion was over, so Shrewfur growled softly and crossed the bridge. Not watching his footing, he nearly slipped once or twice, but he managed to not fall in.

_StarClan, _Shrewfur thought, _what do you think I should do?_

There was nothing they could do, of course. Shrewfur knew that first hand. Stars stared back at him with nothing helpful at all.

_I've got to tell him._

**I don't know if Shrewfur will tell him… Is that bad? XD I planned on extending their apprenticeship, but it would have been dull, so I moved the plot along.  
**


	15. Is It Betrayal?

**I have a three to five page essay due next week… and the only thing I could think to write was a new chapter. –sighs- I'm actually typing in fifth period. XD**

Light knew all too well that she would get exposed. Unless ThunderClan was filled with mousebrains (which was true in her book but not the point), they would eventually find out that she had stolen the body of the former ShadowClan deputy, and after realizing this, they would more than likely shun her and the two stupid warriors she had brought back. In all likelihood, she would end up homeless yet again. She was ready for this, though.

What she wasn't ready for was getting betrayed by the ones she saved from remaining in death.

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_Okay, Shrewfur, you can do this. Deep breath… hold it… let it out… Now, take one step, then another…_

"Firestar? May I speak with you?" Shrewfur heard his voice squeak like a kits as he called into the darkness of the Clan leader's den. It was even more creepy since it was the night of the Gathering; ThunderClan had just returned to camp, and Shrewfur had made an executive decision to tell Firestar about them without Swiftfoot's approval.

_I would never want to be Clan leader, _he thought, _if it means sleeping in the world's darkest den all night. _Then, he thought, _Swiftfoot and Light are going to murder me for this._

"Come in, Shrewfur," a voice called, making Shrewfur jump. The brown warrior took and held another breath, then slowly made his way into the darkness.

He could barely see four shapes in front of him; one was Firestar, curled up on his moss, and the other three were Brambleclaw, Graystripe, and Sandstorm. Shrewfur wondered briefly why Leafpool wasn't with them.

"I… uh… I need to… tell…"

_I look like such a kit right now. _He froze at the stares he received, curious and slightly suspicious. If he exposed him, Light, and Swiftfoot to get his Clan's aid in defeating Tigerstar and Hawkfrost, then these warriors before him would probably run him out. Was he doing the right thing?

_You can still back out now, _one side of him thought.

_That's stupid, _the other argued. _All the Clans would be destroyed then. Be a warrior, me!_

"Shrewfur? Is everything alright?" Sandstorm forced her way through the den meant for one that held five warriors and sniffed him curiously. "You seem terrified."

_"Tigerstar-is-back-help!" _He blurted out jumbled words that didn't even make sense to him. And he was the one that said them.

"Pardon?"

"Tigerstar… is… _that _Tigerstar!"

Graystripe frowned. "I think you're mistaken, Shrewfur. Tigerstar died in the old forest after the BloodClan war in Fourtrees. I think the long day and heat is getting to you; why don't you go and-"

"Oh, shut up, will you? I know what I'm talking about!" Graystripe was partially right; the day, stress, and heat _were _getting to Shrewfur, causing him to speak foolishly and wish he could make himself shut up and take his words back. He was going for it, though. "Do you all remember Shrewpaw and Swiftpaw?"

"You mean you?"

"No, duh. I mean the ones in the old forest!"

"Yes…"

Shrewfur braced himself. "I… Swiftfoot and me, we're-"

A piercing scream filled the air, filled with the agony of a she-cat giving birth. The warriors sprang up and fled Firestar's den, spotting Light in the center of the clearing; moonlight made her fur sparkle. She was spasming and howling in the air like she was dying.

"Light! Light, what is it?" Swiftfoot nosed her side. "Light!"

"Swift… foot? Is that…" She broke into a fit again.

_She's faking it; I can tell. Why is she- _The realization that Light knew what he was about to do hit Shrewfur like the monster in the old forest. He was at a loss for words.

"Calm down. Move, darn you! Medicine cat, coming through!" Shrewfur watched from outside of his leader's den as Jaypaw pushed through the crowd of ThunderClan that had gathered. Leafpool was behind him, confusion clear on her soft features.

"What's wrong with her?" Jaypaw frowned.

Light had calmed slightly, but she was shivering as if chilled. Leafpool leaned in and sniffed her, then muttered something to her apprentice.

"Come with me, please," she spoke softly to Light. "It'll all be ok-"

"Get away!"

Shrewfur watched the scene and sighed. Light had to know what he planned; why else would she have freaked out like that?

Unless she thought he was betraying her and Swiftfoot?

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Light pushed Leafpool away for what she hoped was the final time. "Get away!"

"You're sick."

"I _said," _she flattened her ears and hissed, "_get away!"_

Leafpool bowed her head. "Fine."

Jaypaw protested, but he followed his mentor back to the den, all the while arguing with her about how this wasn't the right thing to do. Light glanced up to where Shrewfur was seated with his eyes unblinking at the scene below him.

_If you do that again, you traitor, _she thought, _I won't hesitate to put you back in your place… StarClan._


	16. A Not So Happy Family

**I feel the need to apologize for the last chapter; the end was so cut-off because I was in fifth period and had ten minutes left to type (and I just wanted to finish). I went back and revised it a few minutes ago. For some reason, sentences and words got cut out. I don't have a clue why, but I went back and fixed them. Hopefully, I got all of them.**

**Anyway, I decided to write another chapter because the last one wasn't good, and I don't want to type my essay. Laziness fail.**

The next morning greeted Shrewfur like claws raking down his face. He hated mornings ever since he was a kit; one would think he'd enjoy them after being in the land of no sun that was StarClan's territory, but that wasn't the case. He still hated mornings.

Shrewfur pricked his ears and stood, hearing and soon after spotting Brambleclaw giving out the duties. "Sandstorm, you can lead a border patrol; choose some cats to go with you. Brackenfur, you can lead one later. That leaves hunting patr-"

"I will lead one." Shrewfur's heart skipped a beat when he saw Light push her way forward through the crowd of ThunderClan's warriors.

Brambleclaw tensed. Clearly, he was remembering the episode last night. "Are you sure, Light? Last night, you-"

Light dramatically looked to the ground. _Here we go again, _Shrewfur thought. "I've suffered frequent attacks like that since I was a kit. I hoped and prayed to StarClan that I would not have one in my Clan, but alas, that was not the case! Oh you great warrior, please hesitate to condemn me for-"

"_You can lead a hunting patrol." _Brambleclaw interrupted her. "Sorreltail, you lead another."

Light met the deputy's eyes and purred. "Thank you. I'm glad you see in my way." She gazed through the crowd; the warriors she looked at turned away. Finally, her eyes locked with Shrewfur's and Swiftfoot's. "I'll take Shrewfur and Swiftfoot. We leave now."

The brown warrior hesitated before following his "brother." He knew Swiftfoot well enough to know that something was wrong. The tom kept his eyes far from his friend's. Light, too, seemed to be angry, but that was normal for her. Was it because of last night?

They walked through the trees in silence; even the birds didn't seem to want to dare break the cloud of tension that hung over the forest. Shrewfur followed Light through the maze of trees in the direction of the lake.

"Should I dare ask-"

"Shut up." Light didn't speak with her normal I'm-better-than-you tone. She seemed honestly furious with him.

_It has to be about last night… But I didn't… I thought…_

The she-cat suddenly stopped; her paws were at the edge of the lake which stretched far before them. "That's the problem, Shrewfur. You _thought. _Stop thinking and start talking for once."

"Huh?"

Light turned around slowly. Her ears flattened like grass under a warrior's paws, and her tail flicked to and fro. And then there were her eyes. There was a good reason Firestar wanted to name her Shiningeyes; at this instant, Shrewpaw saw something he thought was impossible. They seemed so dark and cold. It reminded the warrior of the darkest leaf-bare.

"Why did you think it would be a good idea to go and make decisions without me and Swiftfoot? Do you not respect me? Is that it? Am I not good enough to be told your innermost thoughts; do you expect me to have to use my powers on you all the time? It's called respect, Shrewfur, and you clearly don't have any for _any _cat except yourself. That's so selfish I want to vomit, you stupid warrior."

Shrewfur looked away from her piercing gaze. "What are we supposed to do, then? Tigerstar and Hawkfrost have two of the most powerful roles in the forest, and they have an entire Clan to kill us with. What do we have? Two warriors and you. And you can't even use all of your powers anymore after whatever happened between you and StarClan."

Light flinched. She had never explained what made her take over Russetfur's body, but she hated it getting brought up.

"That doesn't matter, Shrewfur." Swiftfoot spoke for the first time. He stood next to Shrewfur, but his head was turned away from him, exposing many nasty scars. His voice was eerily quiet. "We deserve to be involved in any decision making. Think about it this way. If you were Firestar, and you were told that three of your warriors had proof that Tigerstar and Hawkfrost were trying to take over the forest, what would you do?"

He spoke without thinking. "Exile them. After all, if I knew about this before, I could've-" He froze.

"I've been homeless once before, Shrewfur… I don't ever want to go back," Light whispered.

Silence again. Swiftfoot kept his head turned away from Shrewfur, Shrewfur stared at the floor, and Light pawed at the grass underneath her paws.

"So…" Shrewfur broke the silence. "What're we going to do?"

"Easy." Light stood. A new, fierce determination seemed to overtake her; her eyes narrowed, and she purred an evil and creepy purr. "We destroy ShadowClan from the inside."

**Moonfire's got an idea; Moonfire's got an idea. XD I originally was going to have Shrewfur tell Firestar, a war between the two Clans, and everyone living happily ever after, but I got a good idea. I'm sure the fact that I'm studying the Civil War in US History has something to do with it.**

**Creepy story for the day: Apparently, there's an anime/manga called Death Note, and the main character's name is Light. He finds this book called a Death Note that kills the person whose name gets written in it (in the way he describes it). He plans on killing every person who does a bad thing (like steal, kill, etc.), so he can be the god of this utopian society or something like that. O.O I don't know the correct details, but I found that amusing because of my Light.**


	17. Infiltration

"This'll never work."

"Oh, ye of little faith! Trust me; it'll work."

"I gotta agree with Shrewfur on this one, Light… This'll never work." Swiftfoot halted and stared the she-cat in the eyes. It was early morning the day after their "intervention," and Light was enacting her plan that, in all honesty, made as much sense to Shrewfur and Swiftfoot as whispering their plot in the ears of sleeping ShadowClan warriors.

Light hissed. "You both don't trust me! Me, the one who has helped you from the very beginning! I'm so hurt."

Shrewfur groaned and glanced around nervously. Every second they spent chatting was another second they risked everything- getting caught, being seen by a ThunderClan patrol, having their scent picked up… The list was endless, and it certainly wasn't getting any shorter.

They were on the border between ThunderClan and ShadowClan, covered half by the swampy darkness of ShadowClan's pine trees and partially by ThunderClan's dense forests that Shrewfur had begun to call home. The plan was to venture into ShadowClan territory; Light was playing the role of the ShadowClan warrior with Shrewfur and Swiftfoot as her prisoners. She claimed that she could say that she wasn't really dead (since Russetfur's body was never recovered by a ShadowClan patrol), and ThunderClan found her and brought her back to health, but ShadowClan would have to be a Clan full of mousebrains to believe that.

"Come on already," Light meowed, shifting from paw to paw. "I'm not getting any younger." She narrowed her eyes as they crossed the border and slowed, allowing the two "brothers" to walk a bit in front of her.

"What's eating you?" Swiftfoot mewed, noticing the change in her.

"Silence, prisoner!" She hissed; Light then lowered her voice. "I'm getting into character!"

_She's taking this way too seriously._ Shrewfur rolled his eyes and dodged around a fallen tree. Seeing the rival Clan's territory up close like this made him glad he wasn't born a ShadowClan cat. It was so dark, even though the sun had just risen that day, and everything seemed so muggy and damp. He wasn't a duck; he was a cat!

A nearby howl split the air and caused Shrewfur's heart to skip a beat and then pound like a horde of angry badgers charging at him. He tried to calm himself and look furious and hostile towards the ShadowClan hunting patrol, but it was probably painfully obvious that it was all an act.

Light, on the other hand, proved to be a brilliant actress, but wasn't that already known when they were apprentices? On more than one occasion, Shrewfur found himself wondering if she really was Russetfur back from the dead.

"Who are you," a black tom called, "and why are you… Russetfur? It can't be! You were reported to be dead! You-" He paused and sniffed her. "You smell like ThunderClan. Where have you been? …You are Russetfur, right?"

The rest of the patrol muttered amongst themselves and frowned at Light, their eyes narrowed. "Of course it's me, you mousebrains." Light rolled her eyes. "Who else would it be? ThunderClan found me and kept me prisoner, but I was too weak to not accept their help. I have returned with these fools I found on our side of the border. Take me to Tigerstar, will you?"

A small apprentice spoke; her fear scent was drowning Shrewfur, and he appreciated it. "Couldn't you go on your own, Russetfur?"

_We're caught, we're caught, we're-_

"I could, but my wounds are still bothering me, and these ThunderClan prisoners might try to flee and injure me again. I'd appreciate all the help I could get." Light didn't appear panicked in the slightest bit; nothing like Shrewfur, who felt like his heart would beat out of this chest.

"She's smart," Swiftfoot whispered. "I have no idea where their camp is, and now they'll show us without knowing that she isn't Russetfur."

The warrior spent a moment in thought. "Finish up this patrol with us; we need to see if any other ThunderClan cats are lurking. For all we know, they could be waiting to attack."

Russetfur nodded, and the group continued with the patrol unaware of their true identities. Shrewfur and Swiftfoot were circled by the ShadowClan warriors like any prisoners would be.

"It's great to have you back, Russetfur," a snow-colored she-cat mewed. "We were… Well, we missed you."

The black tom hissed. "Silence! There are ThunderClan cats here! They don't need to know about that!"

"It's true," the she-cat argued, " and they'll find out eventually when they're prisoners in our camp!"

Light spoke up. "Find out what eventually?"

The black tom sighed. "Find out about Tigerstar and Flamepelt." He paused to mark a large, pine tree with his Clan's scent, then examined the area in case there was more ThunderClan. Shrewfur unconsciously held his breath, praying all the while that no cat would stray to the border; it would only take one report to the Clan to end their foolish plot. Suddenly satisfied, ShadowClan headed down by the lake. Shrewfur hastened his stop slightly, longing for the sweet relief of sunlight and no more swamp-covered paws.

The head of the patrol stopped. "I will report to Russetfur out of the hearing of the ThunderClan prisoners. Wait here." The two raced many fox-lengths away, still in view of Shrewfur, Swiftfoot, and the patrol. Panic was held within Shrewfur like a trapped bird, yet Light still seemed to hold her act well. She sat up as far as her new body would hold her; Russetfur's tail laid curled around her, and her face betrayed no emotion to the tom.

Shrewfur glanced at the patrol. The white she-cat who had seemed so undaunted and argumentative before was now hardly giving her Clan's prisoners a second look. Her eyes were as dull as her unattended fur which was more of a light brown due to the caked mud and dirt rather than the cloud color it could be. She seemed slightly thin, but Shrewfur knew that could be natural.

Glancing at the other four cats which included the tiny apprentice, all of the Clan seemed as hopeless as the she-cat. All gave out sighs and had their tails and ears down; their pelts could use a very delayed wash. The cats were thinner than the Clan was normally, yet they didn't seem hungry like there was a shortage of prey.

_We could escape now, and these depressed cats would take two moons to even notice!_

"What's wrong with them," Shrewfur whispered to Swiftfoot. "You think it's the leadership?"

Swiftfoot nodded towards Light and the tom. "Guess we'll find out."

Light's head was still held high. Not a single word of the conversation's topic could be betrayed by emotion in her still guarded eyes.

"We are returning to camp now," the tom mewed. He led the ShadowClan cats toward the trees, much to Shrewfur's sorrow; he had loved the warmth of the sun on his fur. The soft croaking of frogs and malicious hisses of snakes would never sound like home to Shrewfur even if he had decided to come to ShadowClan rather than ThunderClan on his and Swiftfoot's second chance. Pine needles pricked his body from below on the floor and from the trees.

_Thrice cursed Clan territory, _Shrewfur swore in his mind as he jumped over a fallen tree and stepped on a needle, causing it to prick his paw. Suddenly, his ears pricked as he heard the meows of many cats, and the scent of ShadowClan that surrounded him grew even stronger. They were there.

The difference between ShadowClan and ThunderClan was even more startling than it seemed when he had first set paw in their territory. Their camp was startling to come across, considering they were still so close to the lake. The hollow was concealed so well that Shrewfur drew back, slightly surprised.

Cats of all ages were all around the camp, going to and fro as they carried out their duties. Some held their heads up high and were very healthy; this was a striking difference compared to those who were like those on the patrol. Those cats were smaller and seemed scrawny, almost thinner than WindClan cats who were naturally petite. Their tails dragged against the dust.

"I will report to Tigerstar. Russetfur, accompany me to give your report." For the second time, Light followed the tom away from the patrol. They stayed behind to "watch the prisoners;" Shrewfur and Swiftfoot still seemed to be the last objects on the minds of the cats.

A large tabby tom emerged from the leader's den, followed by his red furred companion. Shrewfur shivered slightly, strikingly aware of the identities of the cats: Tigerstar and Hawkfrost, in the bodies of Tigerfur and Flamepelt, respectively. The four cats padded towards the prisoners at an even pace, causing Shrewfur's heart to beat faster with every paw step they took.

"These two _ThunderClan _fools are our new... guests?" Tigerstar spat the word ThunderClan and lightly spoke guests, yet it was the last word he meowed that terrified Shrewfur more.

"That is correct. Shrewfur and Swiftfoot." The white she-cat hadn't looked at her leader.

A soft hiss from Flamepelt caught Shrewfur's attention. His eyes were locked on Light, wide and confused. Shrewfur suspected he murdered Russetfur.

Tigerstar approached the toms and halted in front of them. He stared at them so long that Shrewfur felt like a worthless kit. Swiftfoot's ears were back, and he glanced away. The large tom then leapt up a large rock and howled so loud that Shrewfur wondered if RiverClan could hear it.

Cat after cat poured out of their dens and entered in the hollow, some holding fresh-kill. The cats muttered questions and tilted their heads to the side. All of ShadowClan was present in front of the ThunderClan cats and their guards, even Littlecloud who was at the edge, so he could watch his patients.

"ShadowClan," Tigerstar began, "we have two ThunderClan prisoners. These _fools _thought they could stray onto our territory without punishment, but remember, my Clanmates, _no one who is guilty of anything will go unpunished!" _

This caused a stir in the arranged Clan; Shrewfur could tell they were all thinking of the same situation, but he didn't know what. A queen in the back of the gathered cats hung her head, and the tom next to her pressed his body closer to her.

While the Clan muttered loudly to their Clanmates, Tigerstar was muttering to himself. "I will not make the same mistake twice in the same Clan... I'm no fire-colored fool... _Fear! Fear _will guide these cats to listen to me. I'll do whatever it takes to make them fear me, and then they will listen. They will obey me!"

_He's nuts, _Shrewfur thought. _Coming back has made him nuts._

"Silence!" The Clan stopped mewing instantly. "What should we do with these ThunderClan mouse-brains?" No cat dared to reply. "Speak! Redfoot, what do you think?"

A lithe red tom jumped, and his eyes were the size of the full moon. He shook like he was having a seizure. "Uh-uh-uh I-I du-dunn-dunno, Ti-Ti-Tigerstar! Y-y-you make su-such good decis-decisions that... I think y-you and Flamepelt... Co-could ta-ta-take care of them r-r-r-real-really well!"

"Speak clearly, you piece of foxdung!" Tigerstar glared at him and growled, causing Redfoot to press himself to the ground. "I asked you to tell me what we should do to them, so _answer me!"_

A tortoiseshell she-cat spoke up, her belly slightly swollen with kits. "Perhaps... you could start by interrogating them? Find out why they strayed onto the territory, and maybe you could get some ThunderClan secrets?"

Tigerstar's eyes slowly turned. "Did I ask you to give an idea, Brightflower?"

Her ears went back, and she avoided his smoldering eyes. "Well, no, but I-"

"_But nothing! _Darkfur and Barkstripe, teach her to never defy me or my leadership!" Two of the largest toms rose from the middle of the crowd and padded over to Brightflower. Her fur stood on end, and her eyes were wild.

"No. Please! I didn't mean anything, I- Stop! Please, no!" The toms grabbed her scruff and dragged her towards the entrance of the camp, all the while ignoring her shrieks and outbursts.

Redfoot, meanwhile, was more wild than he was before. "Brightflower, no! Get away from her! Stop! Brightflowerrr!" Resisting his cowardice against speaking up before, the tom lunged at the closest tom, Barkstripe. The brown cat smoothly slipped to his left; Redfoot crashed to the ground, then tried to latch his jaws down on the cat's front leg. His teeth met air, however, because Barkstripe was quickly in the air and landing on Redfoot's back. The tom was crushed into submission, yet he still screeched out protests for Brightflower's condition.

Barkstripe looked to his Clan leader. "What should I do with him? Kill him?"

Tigerstar shook his head sadly. "And I was generous enough to spare him earlier. How my kindness is wasted. Take him away; I'm still feeling nice today. Foxtail, go with them. You too, Gingerfur."

The tom and she-cat seemed shocked at being chosen, yet they didn't deny Tigerstar. Shrewfur noticed, however, than their hold on Redfoot was lighter than that on Brightflower.

Tigerstar didn't waste time. "Although Brightflower attempted to deny me, her plan was solid. At sunrise tomorrow, I shall have the ThunderClan cats interrogated. That is all on that subject, but I have one more announcement..." Tigerstar met the eyes of every ShadowClan cat. "By attempting to save her mate, Brightflower openly defyed my leadership. She thought it was wrong to ask that fool Redfoot. In that, she thought _I _was wrong. Brightflower was rebelling! She is an example to you all: _Never _attempt to go against your leader. My word is law"

The ShadowClan Shrewfur knew was nothing like this. This was tyranny, with Tigerstar at the head and Hawkfrost as his right-paw-man, while the Clan was too afraid to resist. What had happened to ShadowClan?

**Oh, I, oh, I'm still alive... Hey, I, oh, I'm still alive...**

**I made up ShadowClan's cats. I didn't have any clue who the cats were... :P**

**Anyway, where was I for so long? Well, I'm seventeen and going into my senior year of highschool. Yes, I still read the Warriors books and play Pokemon; no, I'm not ashamed of that fact. I've been taking the SAT, looking for a career and college, looking for a job, getting a car, and going to "counseling." See, I have Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, so I've been on Paxil, and evil medication that makes me depressed some days and happy-go-lucky others and sleep thirteen hours per night. (My writing has changed thanks to the meds.) Yay me.**


	18. History Repeats Itself

The night in ShadowClan's territory seemed darker than those in ThunderClan to Shrewfur, who tossed and turned for what felt like ages, almost like he had ants in his pelt. The tom laid next to Swiftfoot (who was much calmer than Shrewfur, but didn't seem to be asleep either) underneath an old pine tree with low laying branches so thick that Shrewfur assumed not even a bite from a badger could cut. They surrounded the two "brothers" on both sides to keep them from escaping, and in front of them were two ShadowClan guards, a large tabby with his clanmate Gingerfur, the she-cat who aided in the removal of Redfoot.

Shrewfur watched the she-cat stare at the moon and wondered what she felt about Tigerstar's leadership. She didn't seem to want to take away her clanmate… Did that make them allies? If it came down to it, would she fight against the two reborn toms?

_Stop that thinking, Shrewfur, _the logical side of him snapped at his hopeful side. _A true warrior would never fight against their Clan leader; that's what Tigerstar himself did! Gingerfur would be a fool to do that._

His hopeful side fought back. _Or maybe a true warrior would realize that this is wrong and rebel! Maybe Clan cats are true warriors if they fight against injustice, even if that means going against their Clan leader and deputy!_

"Gah!" Confused even more than before, Shrewfur rolled onto his other side for the millionth time and pawed the dust absent-mindedly.

Light had told them that she planned to run the two Dark Forest cats out of ShadowClan by causing a Civil War, ShadowClan cat against ShadowClan cat, Tigerstar and Hawkfrost/Flamepelt supporters versus those who wanted new leadership. Shutting his eyes, Shrewfur shuddered. History was repeating itself. He remembered the time long ago when he was still a kit in the nursery, and his mother was telling him the story of another vicious ShadowClan leader, Brokenstar.

"_Brokenstar was not a very nice cat like Firestar, sweet Shrewkit," Ferncloud whispered while other kits slept soundly. She smoothed down the fur on his head with a soft lick, then gazed into his eyes. Her voice lowered for the sake of the story. "He was a mean tom, power-hungry and willing to defy the warrior code just to make his Clan the strongest in the forest. Brokenstar took kits your age to apprenticeship-"_

_Shrewkit jumped to his feet. "That's really neat! I want to be an apprentice! I want to be an apprentice _right now!"

_Two other kits and their exhausted mother sat up and glared at Shrewkit, whose outburst woke them._

"_I apologize," Ferncloud mewed to them; her tail swept over Shrewkit's back and pushed him to the ground. Her voice was whisper soft. "There's a reason kits are kits and not apprentices, my son. Their bodies weren't strong enough to… withstand their Clan duties." Ferncloud shut her eyes that had darkened even more than the nursery at night. The greenleaf air was toasty, but his mother still shivered._

_Shrewkit gazed into her eyes; his were the size of the full moon. "What happened to those kits, Ferncloud?"_

_Her tail then covered his mouth. "They died." He understood why it was there when he let out an involuntary shriek; the muzzle didn't wake any queens or kits._

"_The story ends well, though," she continued. "Brokenstar was leader many moons ago, back when Firestar was Firepaw, and Yellowfang was the medicine cat."_

"_Wasn't she from ShadowClan?"_

_Ferncloud purred. "You listen well! Yes, she was. She knew that ShadowClan didn't like Brokenstar's leadership, so she gathered the cats that didn't like Brokenstar and, along with some ThunderClan warriors, he and his strongest supporters were driven out!"_

_Shrewkit kept his voice low this time. "Wow! ThunderClan _must _be the best Clan!"_

"_ShadowClan helped too, little one. But yes, ThunderClan is the best Clan." Her whiskers twitched in amusement. Ferncloud's tone dropped to a malicious level. "Listen closely, Shrewkit. Brokenstar will come and take away any naughty kits who do not get some rest!"_

_Shrewkit squeaked and fell asleep instantly._

"Brokenstar." Shrewfur breathed the name. A cat who took the position of Clan leader, only to not perform his duties as they should have been carried out. Power-hungry. Vengeful after he had been driven out by his Clan. "He's identical to Tigerstar, only now ShadowClan doesn't want to appear weak be relying on other Clans or driving out their leader. Relations between the Clans aren't what they used to be. According to the stories from the elders, Clans would have relied on each other in a situation like this back during the times of Bluestar and Tallstar."

Shrewfur growled, and like he had back when he was a kit, drifted off to sleep.

x - x - x - x - x - x - x - x - x - x - x - x - x - x - x - x - x - x - x - x - x - x - x - x - x - x - x - x - x - x - x - x - x

"Get up, ThunderClan cats!"

Shrewfur opened his eyes and instantly wished he hadn't. Based on where he finally fell asleep, the sun-high sun blasted him in the eyes, causing him to wince and turn his body. Tigerstar and Flamepelt sat in front of him, Barkstripe, a small, gray she-cat, and a young, black apprentice with them. The apprentice had two white front paws that were fidgetting from side to side as he sat.

"What were you two doing on our side of the border?" Hawkfrost spoke instantly.

Swiftfoot sat up perfectly straight and tried his best to look dignified, not petrified with terror like his clanmate. "We chased a squirrel over on accident. Russetfur found us when we lost the squirrel yet wouldn't let us go when we told her what happened." This story had been rehearsed so many times that Shrewfur could say it backwards.

"Does that match Russetfur's story? Are they lying?" Barkstripe looked to his leader, who nodded. He then snorted. "You really were expecting to go free? Are you mouse-brains? You said the squirrel got away. How do we know it really existed? How do we know ThunderClan wasn't sending you to scout for good places to hide, so you pieces of foxdung in ThunderClan can attack?"

Shrewfur was shocked at how bold Swiftfoot was. "Come on! Does that sound like Firestar? You know how reluctant he is to go at war, with good reason! Why would he want to attack ShadowClan?"

The hyperactive apprentice spoke up. "It could be an act," he pitched in. His tail flew from side to side. "They'd be like, bam!" He clawed a pinecone. "And we'd be like, pow!" At that, he turned and bit a blade of grass in half. "And theeeen, Thu-"

"Whitepaw! Silence, you fool!" The she-cat who Shrewfur assumed was his mentor bopped him on the head with one paw; luckily, her claws were sheathed.

"Sorry," he muttered, but his eyes still sparkled.

"Regardless," Hawkfrost continued through gritted teeth, "you're here now, and we have two good "tools for negotiation" with ThunderClan."

"What do you plan to do? Take territory?" Shrewfur hissed. None of the other Clans would dare do that!

"Much more," Tigerstar meowed, speaking for the first time yet not planning to say anything else on the matter. Shrewfur wondered what had made him so crazy. Did coming back do that to him, or was he just angry about everything that happened to him while he was alive?

_Both, _Shrewfur decided. His next thought was wondering what they did with Redfoot and Brightflower, but he was quickly stopped from being able to continue his thinking.

"You will remain here," the she-cat declared. "No contact with your Clan, and we will not tell them you are here until we are ready to make negotiations for your release. You will be fed and given enough water just to survive."

"Yeah," agreed Barkstripe. "Why waste what's ours on _ThunderClan?"_

_Light can bring us food, _Shrewfur thought.

"Do not speak to any cat," the gray cat continued, "unless they speak to you. Try to escape… and bad things will happen to you." They left then, and the two guards returned. The ThunderClan toms sat and waited out the day in boredom, only being fed one small mouse and given a few drops of water in moss. For Shrewfur and Swiftfoot, this was the longest day ever.

That night was when Light appeared to them.

**Didn't plan on updating, but it rained, and I had to put the dogs on the treadmill. I got bored without my DS. This chapter is the intro to continued plot! Huah!**


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